Chelmsford Business Settles With AG, Agrees To Pay 175 Employees

CHELMSFORD, MA – A private home care company in North Chelmsford and its managers have settled with Attorney General Maura Healey's office over claims it failed to pay employees overtime and travel time for three years, according to the AG. Petra Health Care LLC and its managers, John and Joanne Wachira, paid $217,335 in penalties and restitution to 175 employees as part of the settlement.

Between August 2014 and August 2017, the company did not pay workers for time spent traveling between client visits and for overtime, the AG's office said. The Fair Labor Division began investigating Petra Health Care after receiving a complaint from a former Petra employee.

"My office works hard to make sure that employers understand and comply with state wage and labor laws," Healey said in a statement. "We are pleased that through this settlement, Petra’s employees will be paid what they are owed."

Workers who believe that their rights have been violated in their workplace are encouraged to file a complaint at www.mass.gov/ago/wagetheft. For information about the state’s wage and hour laws, workers may call the Office’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465 or go to the Attorney General’s new Workplace Rights website www.mass.gov/ago/fairlabor for materials in multiple languages.

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