A nursing staffing agency has been fined more than $260,000 for incorrectly paying workers and denying them overtime.
The US Department of Labor ruled that CSI Catalano’s Nurses Registry Inc., operating as CSI, owes $260,222 for 61 workers to whom the company paid straight wages instead of the required time-and-a-half for overtime. Court documents filed in the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida Tampa Division show that the wage theft took place from Aug. 18, 2019, to Feb. 27, 2022.
Wages owed to the individual workers range from $58 to more than $31,000, per the consent judgment approved in November 2022. The original complaint was filed by the US Department of Labor in August 2021. The original complaint alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act noted that some employees worked as much as 70 and 94 hours of overtime without being properly compensated.
A Department of Labor spokeswoman said earlier this week that the agency did not have a breakdown of how many of the 61 individuals worked in nursing homes.
The Sarasota, FL-based staffing agency is part of Caregiver Services Inc,, which is based in Miami. It is one of 14 nurse staffing agencies operating in 47 of Florida’s 67 counties, according to the government’s release. CSI’s website indicates that it can provide registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, and others — all of whom are fully credentialed. The company works with nursing homes, hospitals and other health facilities.
A man at CSI who answered a call from McKnight’s Long-Term News earlier this week said the issue was a “private matter” and the company had no comment.
The Department of Labor’s press release announcing the decision noted that a consent judgment entered in the Northern District of Florida by the Office of the Solicitor wrapped up the case, which was in litigation. The release noted that CSI agreed to a court order that it not commit future violations.
