The U.S. Department of Labor has targeted T.E.A.M Abilities LLC, a Spring, Texas-based care center for adults with special needs, alleging significant wage violations in a legal filing. According to the Style Magazine, the company and its CEO, Rachel Jelks, are accused of failing to pay overtime to employees working upwards of 40 hours per week in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
An investigation by the labor department's Wage and Hour Division indicates the staff were compelled to put in long hours, often working 16-24 hour shifts without proper sleep accommodations; employees frequently had to resort to recliners or couches for rest, and were routinely roused to attend to residents’ needs at different hours through the night, as detailed by a news release quoted in Houston Chronicle. Under the FLSA, non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay of one and one-half their regular rates of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek, a fact underlined by Betty Campbell, Southwest Regional Wage and Hour Division administrator, in the release, adding that “Our investigation found T.E.A.M. Abilities violated the law willfully and continues to ignore the law while its employees are suffering financially for its defiance.”
Furthermore, the allegations include that T.E.A.M Abilities maintained a discriminatory policy of paying certain staff overtime while neglecting others, and improperly classified some as independent contractors, a measure not consistent with federal regulations. It was revealed that Jelks intentionally withheld overtime pay because some staff wished to be treated as independent contractors for tax benefits, a method not permissible under the FLSA noted Style Magazine.
The department's lawsuit seeks reparation for three years' worth of back wages from 2021 to 2023 due to these willful offenses, with an assessment of $115,077 both in overtime wages and in liquidated damages to 56 former and current workers, and these figures continue to stack up because of ongoing violations, John Rainwater, Regional Solicitor of Labor, asserted in a statement, “The Department of Labor is committed to protecting workers’ rights to be paid all of their hard-earned wages and will use all legal means necessary to recover their money. T.E.A.M. Abilities and CEO Rachel Jelks will ultimately learn there are costly consequences for employers who mistakenly believe they can refuse to comply with federal labor regulations,” as recounted by Style Magazine.
T.E.A.M Abilities provides an array of services including support with adaptive equipment, caregiver relief, and mental health services for the Houston area residents, their operations extend across 17 residential group homes and an adult day care center, information obtained by the Houston Chronicle discloses.
