Workers successfully challenge pension funding based on ‘church plan’

The owner of three assisted living facilities in Washington state will pay $213,461 to 26 employees after an investigation found overtime and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Labor Department said.

Ecos Homecare’s residential care facilities in Brier, Edmonds and Shoreline, WA, did not to pay employees overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a week, Wage and Hour Division investigators found, according to the Labor Department. Instead, the employer paid workers flat daily rates, which then resulted in recordkeeping violations under the FLSA, because Ecos did not record the actual number of hours each employee worked, the department said.

“We encourage all employers to review their pay practices and to contact the Wage and Hour Division for assistance,” said Jeanette Aranda, the Wage and Hour Division district director in Seattle. “Doing so helps to ensure that all employees are paid the wages they have legally earned and that employers operate on a level playing field.”