Staffing firm ordered to pay $181K in unpaid overtime
MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES — A United States federal court ordered healthcare staffing agency Reliance Staffing and its owner Fahim Uddin to pay over $181,000 in unpaid overtime pay after a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) investigation found they denied overtime pay to 70 healthcare workers.
According to a DOL statement, the consent judgment requires Reliance Staffing to pay a total of $181,531 to 70 registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nursing assistants — representing $90,765 in unpaid overtime wages plus an equal amount in liquidated damages.
The DOL probe revealed that Reliance Staffing had wrongly classified registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nursing assistants as independent contractors rather than employees.
This misclassification led Reliance Staffing to fail to pay the medical workers overtime wages for hours exceeding 40 per week, violating overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
On September 22, 2023, the DOL filed a federal lawsuit against Reliance Staffing and owner Fahim Uddin seeking recovery of the unpaid overtime wages. The recent consent judgment settles the DOL complaint.
Reliance Staffing is no longer operating, but Uddin stated that the company had cooperated fully with the DOL investigation to “address any concerns raised and reviewed employee classification practices and overtime payment procedures.”
“We are pleased to have resolved this matter with the DOL amicably,” Uddin said in a statement emailed by his attorney Craig Romanzi. “Our top priority has always been our employees’ welfare and ensuring they are compensated fairly.”
The consent judgment requires the back wages to be paid in installments by August 1, 2024. Reliance Staffing must also provide the affected workers with DOL fact sheets on labor laws.
DOL Wage and Hour Division Director Timolin Mitchell said this judgment “will restore hard-earned wages denied to employees of Reliance Staffing who performed demanding care work.”
