A Massachusetts home health agency has agreed to fork over more than $85,000 to settle charges that it failed to pay the proper overtime rate and failed to pay workers for travel time, Attorney General Maura Healey says in a release. The payment from Compassionate Healthcare Systems in West Springfield and its owner, Wilberto Rodriguez, includes more than $77,000 in restitution to workers that weren’t paid time-and-a-half and weren’t compensated for travel between jobs, according to the release. The AG’s Fair Labor Division began its investigation into Compassionate Healthcare Systems following action taken by the AG’s Office against a former Worcester-based HHA where Rodriguez had previously served as Chief Operating Officer.
“My office’s Fair Labor Division has prioritized addressing wage and hour violations in the home healthcare industry,” Healey says in the release. “Home health aides provide critical services to vulnerable populations, and they, like all workers, must be paid their earned wages in full and in accordance with our laws.”