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WEST VIRGINIA RECORD

Monday, March 18, 2024

Lawsuit against Loved Ones in Home Care claims travel time should have been calculated in weekly pay

Lawsuits
Scales

HUNTINGTON — The plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Loved Ones in Home Care filed a motion for Step One Notice pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The plaintiffs claim the defendant failed to meet its duty under the FLSA to pay plaintiffs overtime pay of at least 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for time worked in excess of 40 hours in a week.

"Accordingly, plaintiffs have satisfied their modest burden to identify a common policy or practice alleged to violate the FLSA, such that this court should grant plaintiffs’ motion to send notice of this lawsuit to other similarly situated employees who worked for defendant during the time period of three years prior to the filing of the Amended Complaint through the present date, so they have an opportunity to join in this case," the memorandum in support of the motion states.

The plaintiffs claim the defendant also engaged in a similar practice of violating the FLSA regarding travel time at both Charleston and Ripley locations.

"The evidence is more than sufficient to meet plaintiffs’ modest factual burden at the Step One stage," the memorandum states. "As such, plaintiffs request for this court to authorize notice in this case."

The defendant filed a response opposing the issuance of the notice on the grounds that the plaintiffs have no damages and "discovery will clearly reveal that fact," the response states.

"Defendant offers to prove...that the representative plaintiffs have no actual damages and this issue that can be clearly illuminated with limited deposition testimony as well as limited documentary exhibits," the response states.

Betsy Farnsworth and Brittany Gamber, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia against Loved Ones in Home Care LLC, alleging a violation of the minimum wage provision of the FLSA. According to the complaint, Farnsworth and Gamber were not paid for worked performed in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. The plaintiffs allege Loved Ones in Home Care failed and refused to pay overtime for their travel time between client homes during their work shift.

Farnsworth and Gamber seek trial by jury, the designation of this case as a collective action, unpaid wages and overtime compensation, liquidated and incidental damages, interest, costs and expenses and all other just and proper relief. They are represented by attorneys Rodney Smith and Todd Bailess of Bailess Smith PLLC in Charleston and by Mark Toor of Charleston.

The defendant is represented by Ricard Neely, Michael Callaghan and Charles Neely of Neely & Callaghan.

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 2:18-cv-01334

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