INDIANAPOLIS — A federal court has ordered an Indianapolis home healthcare provider to pay more than $432,797 in back wages and damages to 171 caregivers following an investigation by the United States Department of Labor.
Following a consent agreement, Timothy Paul has agreed to pay $215,859 in overtime back wages and an additional $216,938 in liquidated damages and interest.
Paul owns both Heal at Home LLC and TPS Caregiving LLC, operating as Comfort Keepers.
Their office is located on the southeast side of Indianapolis near I-465 and Brookville Road.
In the decision issued Jan. 20, 2022, Judge Sarah Evans Barker also ordered the employer not to violate the Fair Labor Standards Actin the future.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Divisionfound that the businesses violated the FLSA when they issued workers separate checks at “straight time” for hours worked at each facility when it should have combined hours and paid overtime at time and one-half employee’s rate of pay when employees exceeded 40 hours a week.
“When an employer assigns workers to multiple facilities they must combine all hours worked and pay earned overtime. By failing to do so, they deny workers the wages they have rightfully earned,” said Wage and Hour District Director Patricia Lewis in Indianapolis. “Home healthcare workers provide their clients with skills that are essential to their well-being and dignity. Their employers have an obligation to compensate these workers all their hard-earned wages.”
WRTV is working to get a response from Timothy Paul.
He was featured in a 2021 WRTV story with about home health care.
You can contact the U.S. Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).
