The findings of two recent US Department of Labor investigations show misclassification of employees as independent contractors is an ongoing concern for home care industry workers in Louisiana and throughout the nation as the practice deprives them of their full wages and other important benefits. Investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that two south Louisiana companion care providers — We Care Homes Inc. and Special Needs Unlimited LLC — misclassified a total of 158 employees as independent contractors and, by doing so, failed to pay them $422,137 in overtime wages earned for hours over 40 in a workweek. To resolve the violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the division recovered $422,137 in back overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for a total recovery of $844,274. Specifically, the division recovered $634,119 from We Care Homes for 123 affected employees and $210,156 for the 35 affected employees at Special Needs Unlimited LLC.