In the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, plaintiff Phil Scott has filed a lawsuit against Heavenly Haven Care Services, Inc. The case, identified as 3:24-cv-00259-SDD-SDJ, was lodged on April 2, 2024. The complaint alleges violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by the defendant.
Phil Scott is an employee of Heavenly Haven, a home care agency in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. He alleges that despite employees typically working 53 hours per week, Heavenly Haven announced in February 2024 that it would only pay for 40 hours. This resulted in Scott and his colleagues working 13 unpaid hours each week.
The plaintiff further alleges that Heavenly Haven knowingly engages in this practice as employees are required to log their hours into a timekeeping system. It is also alleged that the state reimburses Heavenly Haven for all 53 hours worked by its employees but only pays them for 40 hours.
Scott seeks judgment under FLSA provisions requiring employers to pay nonexempt employees overtime premiums for all hours worked over forty in a workweek and to provide a minimum wage of at least $7.25 per hour. He claims that Heavenly Haven's actions were willful and not based on a good faith belief that they were lawful. Scott brings this complaint as a collective action on behalf of all other current and former similarly situated employees who were denied overtime premiums in violation of federal law.