A nurse registry staffing firm in Sarasota, Florida, will pay $260,221 for allegedly misclassifying 61 caregivers as independent contractors, the US Department of Labor announced today.

The misclassification resulted in the workers not being paid overtime, according to the department. A consent judgment entered in the Northern District of Florida by the Office of Solicitor resolved the case after a period of litigation, with the employer also agreeing with a court order not to commit future violations.

In this case, the company is CSI Catalano’s Nurses Registry Inc., part of Caregiver Services Inc. It provides staffing that includes registered nurses, certified nursing assistants, home health aides and companions.

“All workers deserve the wages they legally earned, including those who provide essential care to people in our communities,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff in Tampa, Florida. “Employers should contact the Wage and Hour Division to determine if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. In this case, the employer should have followed federal law in making their determination. When federal and state regulations conflict, employers must abide by the more restrictive of the regulations.”