UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

WESTERN DIVISION

__________________________________________

:

R. ALEXANDER ACOSTA, Secretary :

of Labor, United States Department of Labor, :

: Civil Action No. 1:18-cv-325

 Plaintiff, :

 :

 v. :

:

HEALING SPRINGS MED-CARE, LLC, :

:

and :

:

KENNETH UWAEZUOKE, :

 Individually, :

:

 Defendants. :

__________________________________________:

COMPLAINT

Plaintiff, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor (Plaintiff), 

brings this action to enjoin Defendant Healing Springs Med-Care, LLC and Kenneth 

Uwaezuoke, individually (collectively, “Defendants”) from violating the provisions of 

Sections 7, 11, and 15 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (29 U.S.C. 

201 et seq.) (“the Act”), pursuant to Section 17 of the Act and to recover unpaid overtime 

compensation owed to Defendants’ employees, together with an equal amount as 

liquidated damages, pursuant to Section 16(c) of the Act.

I.

Jurisdiction of this action is conferred upon the court by Sections 16(c) and 17 of the 

Act and 28 U.S.C. § 1345.

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II.

(a) Defendant, Healing Springs Med-Care, LLC (“Healing Springs”), is an Ohio 

limited liability corporation with its main office and principal place of business at 1821 

Summit Road, Suite 200 in Cincinnati, Ohio, which is within the jurisdiction of this court 

and is, and at all times hereinafter mentioned was, engaged as a home health care agency

and in performance of related types of activities. Defendant Healing Springs has a second 

office and place of business at 4130 Linden Avenue, Suite 232 in Dayton, Ohio.

(b) Defendant, Kenneth Uwaezuoke (Uwaezuoke), is the sole owner of Defendant

Healing Springs and, at all times hereinafter mentioned, actively supervised the day-today operations and management of the corporate Defendant in relation to its employees, 

including, but not limited to, collecting time sheets from employees and directing 

employees’ work. At all times hereinafter mentioned, Defendant Uwaezuoke was 

engaged in business within Hamilton County at 1821 Summit Road, Suite 200 in 

Cincinnati, Ohio, which is within the jurisdiction of this court. Defendant Uwaezuoke

acted directly or indirectly in the interest of Healing Springs in relation to its employees

and is an employer within the meaning of Section 3(d) of the Act.

III.

Defendants are and, at all times hereinafter mentioned, were engaged in related 

activities performed through unified operation or common control for a common business 

purpose, and are and, at all times hereinafter mentioned, were an enterprise within the 

meaning of Section 3(r) of the Act.

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IV.

Defendants are and, at all times hereinafter mentioned, were an enterprise 

engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce within the meaning of 

Section 3(s)(1)(A) of the Act, in that said enterprise at all times hereinafter mentioned 

had employees engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or 

employees handling, selling, or otherwise working on goods or materials that have been 

moved in or produced for commerce by any person and in that said enterprise has and has 

had an annual gross volume of sales made or business done of not less than $500,000.

Specifically, Defendants employed home health aides who performed domestic service in 

households.

V.

Defendants repeatedly violated the provisions of Sections 7 and 15(a)(2) of the 

Act by employing many of their employees who in workweeks were engaged in 

commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or who were employed in an 

enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, within the 

meaning of the Act as aforesaid, for workweeks longer than forty hours without 

compensating said employees for hours worked in excess of forty hours per week during 

such workweeks at rates not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which 

they were employed. Specifically, Defendants did not pay premium wages to hourly 

employees who worked in excess of forty hours in a workweek.

VI.

Defendants, employers subject to the provisions of the Act, repeatedly violated 

the provisions of Sections 11(c) and 15(a)(5) of the Act in that they failed to make, keep, 

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and preserve adequate and accurate records of their employees and the wages, hours, and 

other conditions and practices of employment maintained by them as prescribed by 

regulations duly issued pursuant to authority granted in the Act and found in 29 C.F.R. 

Part 516, in that records fail to adequately and accurately show, among other things, the 

money paid by Defendants to all employees for hours worked.

VII.

During the period since November 12, 2015, Defendants repeatedly violated the 

aforesaid provisions of the Act. A judgment which enjoins and restrains such violations 

and includes the restraint of any withholding of payment of overtime compensation found 

by the court to be due to present and former employees under the Act is expressly 

authorized by Section 17 of the Act.

WHEREFORE, cause having been shown, Plaintiff prays for judgment against 

Defendants as follows:

A. For an Order pursuant to Section 17 of the Act, permanently enjoining and 

restraining Defendants, their officers, agents servants, employees, and those persons in 

active concert or participation with them, from prospectively violating the provisions of 

Section 15 of the Act; and

B. For an Order:

1. pursuant to Section 16(c) of the Act, finding Defendants liable for 

unpaid overtime compensation due Defendants' employees and for liquidated damages 

equal in amount to the unpaid compensation found due their employees listed in the 

attached Exhibit A (additional back wages and liquidated damages may be owed to 

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certain employees presently unknown to Plaintiff for the period covered by this 

complaint); or, in the event liquidated damages are not awarded,

2. pursuant to Section 17, enjoining and restraining Defendants, their 

officers, agents servants, employees, and those persons in active concert or participation 

with them, from withholding payment of unpaid overtime compensation found to be due 

Defendants' employees and pre-judgment interest computed at the underpayment rate 

established by the Secretary of the Treasury, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 6621; and

C. For an Order awarding Plaintiff the costs of this action; and

D. For an Order granting such other and further relief as may be necessary and 

appropriate.

/s/ Joseph M. Berndt

JOSEPH M. BERNDT

Trial Attorney

US Department of Labor

1240 East 9th Street, Rm. 881

Cleveland, Ohio 44199 

(216) 522-3875 direct

(216) 522-7172 facsimile

email: berndt.joseph.m@dol.gov

OF COUNSEL:

BENJAMIN T. CHINNI (0025356)

Associate Regional Solicitor

MAUREEN M. CAFFERKEY (0031165)

Counsel for Wage Hour

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