MINEOLA, NY - Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman announced the release of a Living Wage audit follow-up report of All Metro Health Care that provides personal care services to individuals. The audit was focused on determining whether the organization was in compliance with the Nassau County Living Wage Law and its agreement with the County.
The original audit of All Metro Health Care, released on December 10, 2018, covered the years 2014 and 2015. The audit contained four audit findings, including 117 employees paid less than the living wage rate resulting in underpayments of $33,996; 89 employees not granted 7,386 hours of earned compensated time off totaling $112,249; and incomplete payroll data that identified an additional 30 employees paid less than the living wage, resulting in underpayments of $66,171 and unpaid compensated time off of $10,824.
The audit report provided 11 recommendations. All have either been implemented or are in progress, including paying employees approximately $223,000 in underpaid wages and uncompensated time off.
“As we show time and time again, each Living Wage audit follow-up demonstrates why this process is so important as we work to deliver results for taxpayers. I am pleased that this audit shows that All Metro Health Care has followed our recommendations from the original report,” said Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: now more than ever, people need to earn a living wage in order to make ends meet here on Long Island. That is why during these challenging times, it is so important to hold contractors accountable.”
The Nassau County Living Wage Law was originally enacted in 2007 to raise the minimum wage of employees of most vendors with County service contracts. It ensures that employees of certain companies that Nassau County does business with are earning the Living Wage. The Comptroller’s Office issues Living Wage audits focused on organizations providing vital services to Nassau County residents as well as follow-up reports to ensure corrective actions are taken after the issuance of the original audit.
Since 2007, the Comptroller’s Office, working with the County’s Living Wage Advisory Board, has released 48 Living Wage audit reports encompassing 38 different contractors, identifying a total of 2,092 instances of underpayments consisting of $1,074,563 in underpaid wages and an additional
$406,264 in under-accrued compensated time off was identified, for a total of $1,480,827. Since taking office, Schnirman has revitalized the Committee, ensuring it holds regular quarterly meetings and has the information needed to review contractor compliance with the Law.
The Comptroller’s Office also established the bilingual Living Wage Hotline to provide employees a place to confidentially report violators of the Living Wage Law and receive information about the Law. This easy-to-remember hotline, 516-571-WAGE, connects callers directly with staff in the Comptroller’s Office during business hours so that complaints may be heard.
As of August 1, 2021, the Living Wage is $17.57 an hour without health benefits or $15.20 per hour with health benefits. This rate will stay in effect until July 31, 2022, when it will be adjusted by a percentage equal to the change in the New York Metropolitan Area All Urban Index (NY CPI-U) as promulgated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.
You can read the reports at www.nassaucountyny.gov/audits.