WASHINGTON — Some of D.C.'s front-line workers who took care of patients during the height of the pandemic are getting a million-dollar payback.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said Azure Healthcare, LLC forced employees to work 24-hour shifts and shorted them on overtime pay.
The lawsuit was first filed in 2021 by then AG Karl Racine. The case stems back to 2020 when Azure Healthcare, LLC operated six assisted living facilities in the District.
In the early days of the pandemic, these group settings were hotbeds of COVID-19 infections. According to the lawsuit, Azure Healthcare locked down its facilities and forced employees to work 24-hour shifts for two weeks straight.
The attorney general alleged that employees only got paid for 18 of those hours and when they were promised hazard pay, the company folded. The owners sold all six facilities in the middle of the pay dispute. Now, the owners are on the hook for $1.5 Million.
“You have to treat your workers fairly with dignity and in accordance with the rules that govern and the District of Columbia,” said Graham Lake, section chief with the OAG’s Workers’ Rights and Anti-Fraud Section. "This case is entirely the result of a concerned worker reaching out to our office, and it enabled us to sort of work on behalf of her and her co-workers and achieve a really great result.”
The OAG said all other companies should be on notice to treat and pay employees fairly. According to the settlement, Azure Healthcare denied the allegations and stated the settlement does not admit liability, but rather compromise.