Lee’s Industries

Home caregivers who work for Lee’s Industries (Philadelphia, PA) filed suit Wednesday, January 17, 2007, asking the judge to stop Lee’s Industries’ practice of not paying caregivers for all of the time that they work.

  • Lee’s Industries has a history of failing to pay caregivers for their time traveling between clients. 
  • Many of the home care agency’s workers only earn about $8 an hour and get few benefits. 
  • Lee’s Industries also has a record of not paying its workers overtime.

As a result, many caregivers are driven from the industry, making it more difficult for seniors and people with disabilities to find stable, reliable care.

The lawsuit is seeking back pay for workers. It could also mark the beginning of a comprehensive compensation plan that would not only require all home care agencies to pay their workers for travel time and overtime, but also require the agencies to pay thousands of dollars in back wages.

Olympia Howell

Olympia Howell tells her story at a press conference to announce the home care workers’ lawsuit against Lee’s Industries.

Caregivers, seniors and advocates point to this suit as yet another sign of a broken home care system. A broad-based coalition is working on a new effort to improve home care and seeking ideas to solve problems in the home care system.

Lee’s Shortchanges Taxpayers

Though most of Lee’s funding comes from public sources—the taxes we put aside to allow those who need help to remain in their homes—Lee’s Industries has a long record of failing to meet its own public obligations.  Over a span of more than 10 years, Lee’s and its managers have shortchanged not only federal, state, and local governments but also Social Security and Medicare, programs that support the very people Lee’s serves. Read more »

Candlelight Vigil at Home of Lee’s Industries CEO

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Drill team accompanies workers before candlelight vigil at the home of Lee Industries chief executive officer, Nina Kinard, in North Wales.

Seniors, caregivers, and community leaders that were fed up with Lee’s Industries abuse of caregivers’ rights took their message straight to the company’s chief executive officer Nina Kinard – during a demonstration Thursday, September 28, 2006 in North Wales where she resides.

 

Those who attended the candlelight vigil demanded that Lee’s Industries Home Care either fix the company’s problems or stop using taxpayer money to provide care through this law-breaking agency.