Caregivers worked through lunch without pay, feds say. Now Michigan company owes them

Six healthcare workers consistently worked through their lunch breaks without being paid, according to federal authorities. Now their Michigan employer owes them back pay.

A U.S. Department of Labor investigation into Safe Haven Assisting Living of Haslett LLC found that from about August 2020 through December 2021, the facility’s new owner “automatically deducted meal breaks from employees’ paid time and did not pay the affected workers when they worked during their breaks,” according to a Jan 17 news release.

But because the facility typically only staffed two caregivers during day shifts — and because the work often required two employees — the worker meant to be taking a meal break would often have to help the other caregiver, according to court records.

“It was frequently difficult or impossible for that single employee to effectively and properly attend to all residents’ needs that might arise” while their co-worker was at lunch, officials said.

Other times, only one employee would be scheduled per day shift, meaning they could not take a break, according to the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division.

The healthcare employees worked through their meal breaks about 50% to 100% of the time, according to the complaint filed in the Western District of Michigan.

The defense attorney representing Safe Haven Assisting Living of Haslett did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Jan. 18.

Officials said the assisted living facility owes $15,238 in back wages and damages to six of its workers. It also must pay a $3,618 penalty as it violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provisions, according to the release.

Investigators found that the facility manager would note when employees worked through breaks, but the owner “ignored the manager’s reminders and failed to pay employees for break time even when she was informed they worked through their breaks,” according to the release.

The workers also did not receive overtime pay when their work extended past 40 hours in a week, officials said.

“Despite knowing her obligation to pay employees who missed their meal breaks to provide patient care and overcome staffing shortages, the owner of Safe Haven Assisting Living of Haslett chose to ignore the law and the reminders of a facility manager,” Wage and Hour District Director Mary O’Rourke said in the release. “Caregivers who deliver essential services to help people unable to care for themselves are among our nation’s lowest paid workers, and these workers depend upon on every dollar earned to support themselves and their families.”

This story was originally published January 18, 2023 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Caregivers worked through lunch without pay, feds say. Now Michigan company owes them."