Home Health Care agencies’ settlement will compensate employees under Wage Parity Act

September 30, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN— TWO BROOKLYN-BASED HOME CARE SERVICE AGENCIES, Edison Home Health Care of New York LLC and Preferred Home Health Care of New York LLC, settled with NY Attorney General Letitia James’s Office and Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, in the wake of an investigation on false claims act.

The settlement agreements address the allegations that the two related companies violated the federal and New York State iterations of the False Claims Act in claiming that they paid their home care aides the minimum wages required under New York State law. The agencies received payments from Medicaid, a portion of whose federal funding must be applied toward paying the wages and benefits of their aides.

The U.S. attorney and Office of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit opened an investigation after whistleblowers alleged that certain LHCSAs had knowingly defrauded the federal government and New York State by underpaying home health aides in violation of the Wage Parity Act. The investigation determined that Edison and Preferred certified their compliance with the law and sought and received reimbursement from Medicaid, even though the government determined that their payments to their aides fell short of the requisite compensation. As part of the settlement, Edison and Preferred agreed to pay $3.9 million to the United States and $5.85 million to New York State for conduct from 2012 to 2022, to which Edison and Preferred have admitted.

The two companies are required to pay $7.5 million to current and former aides who were and are entitled to compensation under the Wage Parity Act.

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