Former Bhutanese Refugee Dilli Adhikari’s Ohio-Based Company to Pay $15 Million in Unpaid Wages and Damages, Confirms DOL

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has confirmed that Americare Healthcare Services, LLC, and its owner, Nepali-speaking Bhutanese American businessman Dilli Adhikari, will not face any additional financial penalties beyond the nearly $15 million already imposed for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Previously, a federal court ruled that Americare must pay $7,478,820.79 in back wages to its home care aides and an equal amount in liquidated damages, bringing the total penalty to $14,957,641.58. This ruling addressed the company’s failure to pay overtime wages to its employees from October 2019 to April 2024.

Despite the initial ruling, the DOL conducted further investigations to determine whether the company continued violating labor laws after April 2024. On February 14, 2025, the DOL filed a submission stating that its review of updated payroll records found no evidence of continued FLSA violations after April 2024.

According to the filing, Plaintiff Vincent N. Micone, III, Acting Secretary of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor, through undersigned counsel, pursuant to the Court’s Orders (ECF #121, 124), reviewed the Defendants’ updated payroll records and found no continuing violations of the FLSA after April 2024.

“Based on the records provided, it does not appear any further back wages or liquidated damages are due in addition to the $14,957,641.58 previously awarded by the Court,” the filing stated. As a result, no additional wages or liquidated damages are owed beyond the amount already ordered by the court.

This decision follows a January 9 court order requiring Americare and Adhikari to submit payroll records for review within 14 days. The court had directed the DOL to assess these records and report any additional violations or owed compensation. The agency’s findings confirmed compliance with labor laws after April 2024, eliminating the possibility of further fines.

The court order stated: “Defendants are ORDERED to pay back wages in the amount of $7,478,820.79 for the period between October 2019 and April 2024 when Defendants failed to pay overtime to their employees. To determine the appropriate amount of damages from April 2024 to the present, the Court ORDERS Defendants to produce payroll and time records dating back to April 15, 2024, to DOL within 14 DAYS. If the records confirm continuing overtime violations, DOL is ORDERED to file a Notice and a Proposed Order detailing the amount of damages owed within 14 DAYS of receiving the records. Defendants may respond within 14 DAYS of DOL’s Notice. Defendants are ORDERED to pay an equal amount of liquidated damages.”

In a detailed opinion issued on January 9, 2025, Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. denied Americare’s motion for partial summary judgment and granted the DOL’s motion for summary judgment. The court found that Americare’s home care aides were employees under the FLSA and that the company was required to pay them overtime compensation for hours worked beyond 40 per week.

The court rejected Americare’s argument that it was exempt from paying overtime under the FLSA’s “companionship” and “live-in” exemptions, which apply to certain domestic service workers. The court upheld a 2013 DOL regulation that prohibits third-party employers like Americare from claiming these exemptions, ruling that the regulation was a valid exercise of the DOL’s authority under the FLSA.

The court also found that Americare’s pay practices, which reduced employees’ regular hourly rates based on the number of hours worked, were designed to avoid paying the required overtime premium. This practice, the court ruled, violated the FLSA’s core policy of ensuring that employees are fairly compensated for overtime work.

The DOL filed a lawsuit against Americare in October 2021, alleging that the company and its owner violated the FLSA by failing to pay overtime wages to home care aides and by not maintaining accurate employment records. The DOL claimed that Americare did not pay overtime to its employees from October 2018 to September 2019 and later implemented a pay structure that reduced employees’ regular hourly rates when they worked overtime, effectively negating the overtime premium required by law.

Americare, a third-party home care agency operating in Ohio, provides services such as personal care, hygiene, and mobility assistance to elderly clients. The company used an Electronic Visit Verification platform to track the hours and services provided by its aides, but the DOL argued that the company failed to comply with FLSA requirements regarding overtime pay and recordkeeping.

The legal battle began in October 2021 when the DOL sued Americare, alleging that the company failed to properly compensate its workers for overtime between October 2018 and April 2024. The investigation was initiated after a review of payroll records from Intra-National Home Care, another company owned by Adhikari in Pennsylvania, revealed potential violations.

Aside from his involvement in the home healthcare industry, Dilli Adhikari is known for his leadership in cultural and social initiatives. He operates platforms like “Mero Dance Universe” and “Mero Voice Universe,” which promote Nepali and Bhutanese talent. Additionally, through the Intra Foundation, he has been actively supporting various community and cultural programs. Adhikari migrated to the USA as a Bhutanese refugee from Nepal.