The Labor Department ordered a Michigan nursing home owner and operator to pay $69,022 in back wages and damages for not paying her managers overtime.
Amee Patel, who owns three nursing homes, denied 45 managers their full wages by regularly alternating the managers' status from hourly to salary to evade overtime obligations, according to a Feb. 7 Labor Department news release. Ms. Patel paid managers hourly wages when they worked under 40 hours a week and salaried when they exceeded 40 hours, an investigation found.
Ms. Patel paid the wages and damages owed to managers at Beaconshire Nursing Center and Westwood Nursing Center, both in Detroit, and Chesaning (Mich.) Nursing Center.
This is the third labor violation by Ms. Patel, the Detroit Free Press reported Feb. 7. In 2018, a federal investigation found Ms. Patel violated overtime regulations when she failed to pay drivers for their travel and wait times. In 2015, she failed to pay employees for attending mandatory training, according to the report.
The Free Press said it was unable to reach Ms. Patel for comment.