Hundreds of home healthcare aides who cared for elderly and sick people throughout the Hudson Valley will receive $3.5 million in backpay and damages after a jury ruled they were defrauded by their employer
The healthcare aides accused Affiliated Care of Putnam and its owner, Barbara Kessman, of failing to pay overtime and misrepresenting their employment status for her own financial gain. According to the lawsuit, Kessman hid the fraudulent payment practice in part by issuing workers two checks for a single seven-day pay period, one for the first 40 hours and another for any additional hours worked
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Last week, the jury found Kessman personally liable for the damages, “given her complete control over the company,” said Nathaniel Charny, an attorney who represented the health aides
Charny called it an “unusual result.” Business owners are typically shielded from personal liability, but in rare cases they can be held directly accountable for company debts or lawsuits
“The jury found that Ms. Kessman’s role in the scheme to steal overtime from these low-wage workers was so extreme and controlling that the jury determined that she should be held personally responsible for the damages,” he said
Attorneys representing Kessman did not respond to a request for comment
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The lawsuit was initially filed in 2016 by Maria Alves, an aide whom Affiliated Care of Putnam paid between $12 and $16 per hour. It eventually grew into a class action lawsuit that included 280 workers who were underpaid as part of the scheme, court records show
The aides also accused Kessman of failing to notify her employees that they were entitled to overtime pay beginning in 2015, when state and federal labor laws began mandating overtime pay to home health aides.
“I am thrilled at this result, and so proud of the brave home healthcare aides who came to court and told the truth to this jury,” Charny said.
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