Minneapolis home care business to pay $47K in back wages

A Minneapolis home health care business has agreed to pay nearly $47,000 in fines and back wages owed to employees under the city's sick time and minimum wage laws.

As part of its settlement with the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights, MN Professional Health Services also agreed to training for both managers and staff on labor rights and responsibilities. The south Minneapolis-based company provides home care services across the state, according to its website.

The Civil Rights Department began investigating local home health care businesses' compliance with labor laws last summer because of the industry's heavy concentration of relatively low-wage workers and workers of color, said Brian Walsh, director of the labor standards enforcement division.

"The workers who are in most need of help enforcing their rights are also, almost by definition, the least likely to actually reach out to the government and report their bosses," he said. "We proactively have been looking across Minneapolis to try to learn more about the landscape and about this particular industry, how it works and how we can be of assistance both to [personal care assistant] agencies and of course, the relatively vulnerable workers who work in this industry."

Following a city audit, MN Professional Health Services agreed to pay $250 to 18 employees who were being paid less than the city's minimum wage for a total of about $4,500. It also agreed to pay $175 each to 243 employees who were not paid any sick leave from 2019 to 2021, "including during the pandemic," city spokesman Casper Hill said in an e-mail.

"The facts include widespread failure to allow employees access to sick and safe time," he said. "No employees were credited with any sick leave or informed of access to sick leave on their paystubs until the City's audit."

All employees will be paid damages and credited with 80 hours of sick leave as a result of the settlement, which also requires the Civil Rights Department to set aside all claims against MN Professional Health Services.

MN Professional Health Services owner Abdikarim Mohamed did not respond to a request for comment.

Minneapolis' sick and safe time ordinance requires employers to provide paid options for workers to take time off when they're sick.

The city passed a $15 minimum wage ordinance in 2017, and it is being gradually implemented at different rates for large and small businesses. On July 1, the citywide minimum wage reached $12.50 an hour for small businesses and $14.25 for franchises and businesses with more than 100 employees.

Large businesses will hit the $15 minimum wage next year, with small businesses following in 2024.

Susan Du • 612-673-4028