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Childcare provider pays more than $41K in back wages
Updated: October 24, 2012 10:02PM
A childcare firm with day care centers in Chicago and the suburbs has paid more than $40,000 in back wages to 354 current and former workers after a federal probe of its overtime policy and record-keeping.
The U.S. Department of Labor found violations at 21 centers operated by Crème de la Crème in Illinois and seven other states, a release from the department said. Locally, the firm runs daycares in Chicago, Warrenville, Glenview and South Barrington.
The Denver-based firm failed to pay overtime for hours in excess of 40 in a workweek, including time spent in mandatory training courses and doing work prior to or after scheduled shifts, the release said. In one case, employees were hired to teach soccer and tennis, but were misclassified as independent contractors and denied proper compensation.
Crème de la Crème also failed to maintain proper records of employees’ work hours and wages, the government alleged.
“Childcare employees work long hours looking after children’s safety, yet are often denied the wages and workplace protections guaranteed by law ... which is important not just for the workers, but for all the families depending on them for quality child care services,” Cynthia Watson, Southwest regional administrator for the department, said in a statement.
