New York Attorney General Letitia James and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace on Monday announced a $17.25 million settlement with two Brooklyn-based home care agencies for allegedly cheating more than 25,000 workers out of wages and defrauding Medicaid.
The two agencies, Edison Home Health Care and Preferred Home Healthcare, failed to pay full wages and benefits to home health aides, many of whom are immigrant women of color, according to a press release about the joint investigation.
The agencies misused funds meant for employee benefits to boost profits, investigators found.
Edison and Preferred will pay $7.5 million in back wages to the affected workers and $9.75 million to the Medicaid program to settle federal fraud claims. The case marks the largest settlement for violations of New York’s Wage Parity Act to date, which sets minimum pay and benefit standards for home health aides.
“Home health aides provide crucial care to our most vulnerable neighbors and loved ones, and they deserve to be paid for their hard work,” said Attorney General James. “Edison and Preferred cheated employees and defrauded New York taxpayers.”
The agencies will also revise internal policies, undergo monitoring, and submit regular reports to ensure compliance with wage laws. Whistleblowers who filed complaints under federal and state False Claims Acts helped prompt the investigation, according to the press release.
“These aides deserve the hard-earned benefits guaranteed to them under the law,” said U.S. Attorney Peace, praising the agreement for holding the agencies accountable.
The settlement is part of ongoing efforts to protect home health workers, whose jobs are often grueling and underpaid. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit led the investigation, with additional support from the Labor Bureau and New York’s Division of Criminal Justice.
