WYNCOTE, PA — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment mandating that Wyncote Wellness LLC, a home healthcare agency, and its owner, Dominique Conner, compensate 196 direct care employees with $810,320 in back wages and liquidated damages. This judgment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, addresses the company’s flagrant disregard of federal wage laws.
The consent judgment follows an exhaustive investigation by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division, revealing consistent violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by Wyncote Wellness. The investigation uncovered that the agency systematically failed to pay its employees the federally mandated overtime rates. Instead, employees received separate checks for each client they attended within a week, avoiding the proper calculation of overtime that should combine all hours worked across different clients.
Further findings indicated that many employees recorded more hours than they ultimately received payment for, with no compensation provided for travel time between clients. This practice not only violated minimum wage provisions but also the requirement to maintain accurate records of all hours worked, including travel time.
James Cain, District Director of the Wage and Hour Division in Philadelphia, emphasized the critical nature of this enforcement action, stating, “Home healthcare workers provide vital services to the most vulnerable members of our communities, and their work deserves respect and fair compensation.” This judgment serves as both remediation for affected workers and a stern warning to other employers about the importance of adherence to labor laws.
Beyond compensating employees, Wyncote Wellness is also required to pay a civil money penalty in acknowledgment of the willful nature of its violations. Samantha Thomas, the Department’s Regional Solicitor in Philadelphia, remarked on the significance of this case, noting, “Our efforts resulted in securing the consent judgment and recovering hard-earned wages for the home health workers. This case demonstrates the U.S. Department of Labor’s commitment to pursuing litigation when employers fail to comply with the law.”
The Philadelphia District Office of the Wage and Hour Division conducted a thorough investigation that led to this legal outcome, with the Department’s Office of the Solicitor in Philadelphia effectively filing the complaint and consent judgment.
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