US Department of Labor complaint alleges Indianapolis home care companies’ operator again violated federal wage laws, withheld $86K in wages

INDIANAPOLIS - In 2018, federal investigators cited then owner Hahn March for not paying overtime wages to employees at Aging and Disabled Home Healthcare in Indiana. March again finds herself under scrutiny for allegedly using improper pay practices at two Indianapolis home healthcare companies she owns, Signal Health Group Inc. and SHG Employee Leasing Company.

March is named in an Oct. 21, 2024, complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Labor in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana following an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Divisionthat discovered March and Chief Financial Officer Nancy Stanley used an artificial regular rate pay scheme to lower hourly rates of pay and, in turn, shortchanged employees $86,427 in overtime wages. The two companies operate as Signal Health Group Assisted Care @ Home and SHG Employee Leasing Co.

In its complaint, the department alleges that - from at least March 16, 2020, through March 15, 2022 - the companies took several actions to make it appear they were paying overtime as required, including mislabeling wages as discretionary bonuses.

The department is seeking $172,854, including $86,427 in back wages and an equal amount in liquated damages, for 43 current and former employees. The department also is asking the court to issue an order forbidding March and Stanley from future Fair Labor Standards Actviolations.

In addition to purporting to pay an artificially low pay rate, division investigators found the employers violated federal regulations by doing the following:

• Failing to combine hours to calculate overtime worked for joint employers.
• Not paying employees for time spent traveling between job sites during the workday.
• Denying some employees overtime pay by incorrectly categorizing them as exempt from overtime requirements.
• Failing to maintain complete and accurate time records.

"The Department of Labor has asked the U.S. District Court to recover wages denied to these workers by their employers and to serve notice that trying to evade responsibilities in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act will not be tolerated," explained Regional Solicitor of Labor Christine Heri in Chicago. "When employers attempt to devise workarounds to avoid paying workers the wages they have rightfully earned, the department will seek to hold them accountable in court."

Based in Indianapolis, Signal Health Group provides clients medical services under the name Signal Health Group Assisted Care @ Home. SHG Employee Leasing Company Inc. is a corporation registered in Nevada conducting business in and around Indianapolis to provide Signal Health Group's clients auxiliary support services, such as housekeeping, errands and bathing assistance.

"Employees who work in home healthcare - one of our nation's lowest-paying professions - provide necessary daily and hospice care that allows individuals to remain in their homes and aids them in navigating their basic needs, providing dignity and comfort to clients and their families," explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Aaron Loomis in Indianapolis. "The Department of Labor is committed to protecting workers' rights and holding employers accountable for violating federal law."

Senior trial attorney Travis Gosselin is litigating the case on behalf of the department's Office of the Solicitor.

In fiscal year 2023, the Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $31.8 million in back wages for more than 24,000 workers in the healthcare industry nationwide. Learn more the division's resources for healthcare workers.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division and how to file an online complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

Download the agency's new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices - available in English and Spanish - to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

DOL v. Signal Health Group Inc. D/B/A Signal Health Group Assisted Care @ Home, SHG Employee Leasing Company Inc., Hahn March, Nancy Stanley

Civil Action No. 1:24-cv-01860-JPH-CSW