Pennsylvania home care agency ordered to pay $129K in back pay

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (WTAJ) -- A Pennsylvania-based home care agency was ordered by a federal judge to pay $129,697 in back wages to 66 aides.

Blue Ridge Home Care Inc., headquartered in Philadelphia and Dover, Delaware, was ordered to pay the back wages and damages after an investigation revealed they willfully denied paying the 66 home health aides overtime.

In addition, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania required the company to pay $49,434 in civil money penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor. Prior to the judgment, the department said Blue Ridge already paid $100,00 in back wages owed to the same 66 workers.

“Home care professionals deliver vital, quality-of-life services to some of our communities’ most vulnerable people; they deserve our respect and to be paid fully for their labor,” Wage and Hour Division District Director James J. Cain said. “Our investigations found Blue Ridge Home Care Inc. denied overtime pay earned by dozens of aides they employed, and we’ve taken action to recover – on average – more than $3,400 in back wages and liquidated damages for each of the 66 affected workers.” 

Through the department's investig...