Federal judge orders healthcare companion company to pay 34 workers $95K in wages, damages, following US Labor Department investigation

Summary:

A consent order and judgment was entered in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, requiring Great Lakes Care Companions Inc. and its owner, Juan G. Salazar, to pay a total of $95,074 in back wages, liquidated damages, and interest to 34 workers. The company failed to pay care workers overtime at time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek from at least August 2019 to July 2021, violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. The company paid $31,791 of the back wages owed before the consent order and judgment, and agreed to pay the remaining amount, including $1,225 in interest, by September 2024.