Recently, a group of home health care workers filed a class action wage and hour lawsuit against several health care staffing companies. The group made several claims against these agencies asserting that they were not paid the hourly wages they were entitled to, and were denied both overtime and sick days in violation of the law.
Pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), nearly all workers in the United States who work for a living are entitled to earn at least minimum wage and all non-exempt workers are entitled to receive overtime compensation at a rate of one and one-half times their hourly rate of pay.
In this instance, the wage and hour class action asserts that the staffing
companies failed to pay overtime compensation when the workers put in
time in excess of 40 hours and also failed to give them paid time off
when they were sick. These practices violated both the overtime and minimum
wage protections of the FLSA.
The FLSA was enacted to protect workers – especially those at the
lower end of the pay spectrum who are often too scared to speak up for
their rights lest they lose their jobs. In order to help ensure that workers
speak up – the FLSA also contains an anti-retaliation provision
that provides remedies if your employer takes “any negative action
against you (or even against a family member or friend) in response to
your complaint about FLSA violations, or for participating as a witness
in someone else’s discrimination case. This includes actions such
as moving you to a less favorable shift, or transferring you to a different
location further from your home.
If you have questions about the Fair Labor Standards Act, or believe that your employer has failed to pay you all the compensation you rightly deserve, please contact the experienced Georgia wage and hour lawyers at Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP, LLC for an immediate case evaluation.