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Many aging Americans who wish to stay in their own homes as they get older opt to hire in-home care from professional services. One such company, Home Helpers, has been accused of not paying their employees a fair wage and because of this, is facing a wage and hour class action lawsuit.
Home Helpers agency is an in-home healthcare agency that provides personal care for senior citizens or those recovering from surgery or illness. Home Helpers agency workers often work around the clock caring for clients.
Home Helpers agency workers help their clients with many ordinary, day-to-day needs, including personal care services such as dressing, using the bathroom, feeding, navigating stairs, getting in and out of bed, and sitting or standing. Additionally, Home Helpers agency caregivers can offer companion care as well as help around the house which may include grocery shopping, sorting mail, cleaning, laundry, meal preparation and pet care.
Sometimes, Home Helpers agency caregivers are required to stay with their clients overnight, offering 24-hour assistance.
Recently, however, Home Helpers agency caregivers have filed a wage and hour class action lawsuit claiming that the home healthcare company violated the rights of its workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA.
The FLSA ensures that American workers are treated fairly on the job. It enforces regulations about minimum wage, hours worked, meal and rest breaks and overtime pay.
In their wage and hour class action lawsuit, the caregivers accuse Home Helpers agency of the following alleged violations:
- Failing to provide workers with at least five hours of uninterrupted sleep
- Failing to provide a minimum wage
- Failing to provide pay for overtime hours worked
- Requiring Home Helpers agency caregivers to work off-the-clock
- Retaliating against one of the plaintiffs when he/she complained about wage and hour violations.
The caregivers for Home Helpers claim that they are entitled to overtime pay, damages for their unfair and unlawful working conditions, and back wages.
The plaintiffs in this Home Helpers agency class action lawsuit claim that there has been a culture of Fair Labor Standards Act wage and hour violations at Home Helpers. They say this culture was noted in a 2015 study done by the National Employment Law Project. According to the plaintiffs, this study noted that workers who provide in-home healthcare are often subject to wage and hour violations including failing to pay overtime, minimum wage violations and off-the-clock work.
As an example of such violations, Home Helpers agency workers say they must stay overnight with their clients on a regular basis. These Home Helpers agency caregivers are required to work twenty-four hour shifts and must stay until a replacement comes. Sometimes these shifts are three times a week, they allege, and can even occur up to six times in a single week.
The plaintiffs in this Home Helpers agency class action lawsuit claim that adequate sleeping facilities were not provided for them and that they were not given the chance to sleep without being interrupted. But, they say, their employer deducted “sleep time” from their wages.
In fact, the class action lawsuit alleges, one of the plaintiffs was required to work six twenty-four hour shifts in a week and was paid a flat rate of $170 per day. There was no written agreement between the caregiver and Home Helpers that sleep time would be taken from their wages. There was no reasonable place the plaintiff could sleep, but Home Helpers took money out her paycheck even so, she claims.
This Home Helpers Agency Class Action Lawsuit is Case No. 3:17-cv-00738-FDW-DSC in the United States District Court of the Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division.
Join a Free Home Helpers Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
If you worked for Home Helpers and you believe your employee rights were violated, you may qualify to join this Home Helpers wage and hour class action lawsuit investigation.
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3 thoughts onCaregivers Challenge Employment Practices at Home Helpers Agency
Another reason why I have been hesitant to mention any of this is because of the clout these people have in society they are wealthy they have jobs and they are believable far more than I probably am and I have a feeling that I could be called a liar and accused of things and no one would believe me and only them so I feel my words would fall on deaf ears so it scares me to stand up for myself because I feel that no one will believe me. Although I do know of other clients that work for other people that have experienced the same thing with them so I know that I am not alone with the abuse that I went through and sucked up for years because I cared way too much. And not enough about myself or happiness which caused my severe depression the past few years.
My very last client was a quadriplegic who had been in an accident for about 8 years ago and was it 60 year old man used to being independent on his own and then immediately had to rely on everybody for everything. I empathized I loved I cared but for some reason he was so bitter and angry he retaliated against his workers. His wife was not the most Pleasant of women to him and had a very crappy bedside manner so I noticed that in order for him to keep his self pride ship rolls down real quick and I got a lot of bitching and moaning at me on what I was always doing wrong and not right but I sucked it up. I mentioned on many occasions at least four times that I couldn’t put up with being treated the way I was after wiping butt and feeding food to this man threw a spoon and doing everything I could to make him happy and yet nothing was good enough and I hit my Wit’s End I snapped and I walked out and I have a very much guilt from it but I had to leave for my own personal sanity because the men and the verbal abuse I was getting from my client. Unfortunately that was the last care providing job I took on because it really hurt me and gave me a perspective that I was not ready for I don’t think. I was definitely taken advantage of in many ways and kept my mouth shut and turn the other cheek because I didn’t want to keep from Making Waves and make sure that everybody is happy because I’m a people pleaser. But once I’m pushed into a corner it’s fight or flight and when it comes to those situations I’m not going to fight anyone I have to just leave before it gets worse and I become bitter and hurtful and mean which is the last thing I need to be doing to a disabled client.
Although it has been a couple years since I have done care providing because of exactly what all of this is describing I became disgusted and disgruntled even after wanting to help people I was being walked on and abused and used. I did not have the courage to say anything because I did not feel I had any clout working in the state of Idaho they can fire me for any reason whatsoever so I kept my mouth shut there were quite a few different incidences at quite a few different places and I’m not sure of the statute of limitations but it was definitely unfair things that went on many times that I sucked up and turn the other cheek because I cared about my clients. I felt guilty many times to say anything for retaliation against my client because of family members getting angry at them for one reason of another so I kept my mouth shut to protect me and my client from verbal mental and emotional abuse. It was depressing disgusting and it made me cry many times after I complained and nothing would happen and then when something bad would happen I would get yelled at by my boss that I didn’t mention anything when in actuality I did mention it but she just conveniently forgot so she wouldn’t have to take responsibility. Is very dog-eat-dog very disgusting and very heartbreaking situations with these elderly people being at the butt and the brunt of the b*******.