Opinion
Civil Action 1:21-cv-03815
10-31-2022
MARTIN J. WALSH, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, Plaintiff, v. WOODBRIDGE NURSING PAVILION, LTD., an Illinois corporation. Defendant.
CONSENT ORDER AND JUDGMENT
HON. NANCY L. MALDONADO, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Plaintiff, Martin J. Walsh, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, has filed a complaint under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 as amended (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.) (“FLSA”), and Defendant WOODBRIDGE NURSING PAVILION, LTD., (“Defendant”) have appeared by counsel, and acknowledge receipt of a copy of the Summons and Complaint, having answered, and agree to the entry of this Consent Order and Judgment without contest.
Defendant admits and the Court finds Defendant is engaged in related activities performed through unified operation or common control for a common business purpose and are an “enterprise” under 29 U.S.C. § 203(r) of the FLSA.
Defendant admits and the Court finds Defendant is an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce within the meaning of 29 U.S.C. § 203(1)(A) of the FLSA.
Defendant admits and the Court finds Defendant is an employer as defined in 29 U.S.C. § 203(d) of the ELSA.
Upon motion of attorneys for the Secretary and Defendant and for cause shown, it is:
ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED, pursuant to section 17 of the FLSA that Defendant, its officers, agents, servants, and all persons acting or claiming to act on its behalf and interest be, and they hereby are, permanently enjoined and restrained from violating the provisions of sections 6, 7, 11(c), 15(a)(2), 15(a)(3), and 15(a)(5) of the FLSA, in any of the following manners:
1. Defendant shall not, contrary to 29 U.S.C. §§ 207 and 215(a)(2), employ any of its employees including, but not limited to, any of its employees working at WOODBRIDGE NURSING PAVILION, or at any business location owned, operated, and/or controlled by Defendant, and at any other business location at which its employees perform work, in any workweek when they are engaged in commerce or employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce, within the meaning of the FLSA, for workweeks longer than forty hours, unless said employees receive compensation for their employment in excess of forty hours at a rate equivalent to one and one-half times the regular rate at which they are employed.
2. Defendant shall make, keep, and preserve adequate records of its employees and of the wages, hours, and other conditions and practices of employment maintained by them including, but not limited to, any of its employees working at WOODBRIDGE NURSING PAVILION, or at any business location owned, operated, and/or controlled by Defendant, and at any other business location at which its employees perform work, as prescribed by the Regulations issued pursuant to 29 U.S.C. §§ 211(c) and 215(a)(5) and found at 29 C.F.R. Part 516. Defendant shall make such records available at all reasonable times to representatives of the Plaintiff.
3. Pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 215(a)(3), Defendant shall not discharge or take any retaliatory action against any of its current or former employees because the current or former employee engages in any of the following activities:
a. Discloses, or threatens to disclose, to a supervisor or to a public agency, any activity, policy, or practice of the Defendant or another employer, with whom there is a business relationship, that the employee reasonably believes is in violation of the FLSA, or a rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to the FLSA;
b. Provides information to, or testifies before, any public agency or entity conducting an investigation, hearing or inquiry into any alleged violation of the FLSA, or a rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to the FLSA, by the Defendant or another employer with whom there is a business relationship;
c. Objects to, or refuses to participate in any activity, policy, or practice which the employee reasonably believes is in violation of the FLSA, or a rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to the FLSA.
4. For a period of two years commencing with the date this Consent Judgment is entered, Defendant shall provide the following Wage and flour Division Fact Sheets, all of which arc available at https://www.dol.gov/whd/fact-sheets-index.htm, to all current and future employees: Fact Sheet #53 “The Health Care Industry and Hours Worked,” Fact Sheet #54, “The Health Care Industry and Calculating Overtime Pay,” and Fact Sheet #22 “Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.”
5. FURTHER, JUDGMENT IS HEREBY ENTERED, pursuant to section 16(c) of the Act, in favor of the Secretary and against Defendant in the total amount of $128,195.34.
6. The Secretary has recovered from Defendant the sum of $59,244.10 in unpaid overtime compensation covering the period from August 25, 2018, to August 8, 2020, for Defendant's current and former employees whose names are listed in the attached Exhibit A, and the additional sum of $68,951.23 in liquidated damages.
a. At the time of Defendant's execution of this Consent Order and Judgment, Defendant delivered payment in the amount of $128,195.33 by ACH transfer, credit card, debit card, or digital wallet at httna:/Zyww.pay,goy/publig/ form/start/77692637 or www.pay.gov and searching “WHD Back Wage Payment -Midwest Region”.
b. At the time of Defendant's execution of this Consent Order and Judgment, Defendant also furnished to the Secretary the full name, last-known address, last-known phone number, and social security number for each employee named in Exhibit A.
c. Upon receipt of full payment from Defendant, representatives of the Secretary shall distribute such amounts, less appropriate deductions for federal income withholding taxes and the employee's share of the social security (F.I.C.A.) tax, to the employees or their legal representative as their interests may appear, in accordance with the provisions of section 16(c) of the FLSA. Defendant remains responsible for the employer's share of F.I.C.A. arising from or related to the back wages distributed by the Secretary.
7. Except for these proceedings, matters arising out of these proceedings, and any other subsequent proceedings between the parties, none of the preceding agreements, statements, findings, and actions taken by Defendant shall be deemed an admission by Defendant of the allegations in the Secretary's Complaint. The agreements, statements, findings, and actions taken herein are made for the purpose of resolving this matter in an amicable manner, and they shall not be used for any other purpose, except as stated previously.
8. By entering into this Consent Order and Judgment, Plaintiff does not waive his right to conduct future investigations of Defendant under the provisions of the FLSA and to take appropriate enforcement action, including assessment of civil money penalties pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 216(e), with respect to any violations disclosed by such investigations.
It is FURTHER ORDERED that each party shall bear their own costs, fees and other expenses incurred by such party in connection with any stage of this proceeding, but not limited to, attorney fees which may be available under the Equal Access to Justice Act, as amended.