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Health care company owner did not pay OT to 700 employees, U.S. Department of Labor says

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The owner of eight Indianapolis-area home health care companies is accused of persisting in not paying adequate overtime wages to employees over the last four years, according to a U.S. Department of Labor complaint filed Wednesday.

Health care company owner Tim Paul received a federal court judgment in 2022 that required him to pay his employees overtime, but officials said in the complaint that the violations have continued.

The Department of Labor estimates more than 700 employees have been shortchanged by Paul’s labor practices since April 2020. It is unclear the exact number of people he employed and how much pay he owes them.

The complaint alleges Paul manipulated pay rates of employees who worked more than 40 hours in a week to pay them the equivalent of straight-time hours worked. The practices began the day after the previous investigation ended, the complaint alleges.

According to the complaint, Paul had employees sign confusing pay agreements that showed they earned more working overtime and lowered hourly pay when Medicare or Medicaid approved more care hours for clients.

The 2022 judgment required Paul to combine hours his employees worked for the affiliated companies when calculating their regular and overtime pay. The department alleges that Paul combined hours but lowered pay by as much as $2 per hour, basing overtime premium pay on the lower pay rate.

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Over the span of the investigation, Paul owned eight companies in Indiana, three of which are now closed:

  • TPS Medical Holdings LLC in Indianapolis
  • Comfort Keepers Home Care in Indianapolis
  • Heal at Home LLC in Indianapolis
  • Healing Hands Home Health in Anderson
  • Healing Hands Personal Services Agency LLC in Anderson
  • Healing Hands Outpatient Therapy and Rehabilitation Center LLC in Anderson (closed in 2021)
  • Community Integration Support in Indianapolis (closed in 2021)
  • Tranquility Nursing and Rehab LLC in Indianapolis (closed in 2021)

The complaint also asks the court to require Paul to hire a third-party accountant to identify accurate back pay wages.

Alysa Guffey covers growth and development for IndyStar. Know a business closing or opening? Contact her at amguffey@gannett.com or on X/Twitter: @AlysaGuffeyNews.

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