Serene Home Nursing Agency of Patchogue must pay $6.4 million to live-in aides who alleged years of wage theft

A Patchogue home healthcare agency owes $6.4 million to nearly 500 live-in aides after a federal jury ruled it had failed to pay them four years’ worth of overtime and then retaliated against the workers.

Tuesday was the deadline for Serene Home Nursing Agency to provide wages for interruptions of aides’ meal and sleep breaks that resulted, on average, in 16-hour work days, according to a July 31 settlement order from U.S. Eastern District Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury.

The consent order followed months of mediation between the company and the federal Department of Labor, which brought the case. The civil jury in Central Islip returned its verdict in April 2025 and Choudhury initially ordered Serene pay a $10.6 million penalty.

The final settlement calls for the aides to get $3.2 million in unpaid overtime and $3.2 million in damages.

It is one of the largest resolutions to a wage-theft complaint in recent years, a search of court records show.

If Serene doesn’t meet the payment deadline, it will owe the $10.6 million penalty plus interest, according to the order.

There are 492 current and former Serene employees who are owed between $80 and $77,650, according to Newsday’s analysis of the court records. The average payment is $13,000.

The company, founded in 2006, no longer offers the live-in services that were subject to the wage-theft allegations, court records show.

Aides had helped clients — many who were homebound and needed around-the-clock care — with tasks such as bathing, dressing and administering medications. 

In a statement to Newsday, a lawyer for the company, Lisa M. Griffith, said Serene "is pleased to have resolved this matter" and "remains committed to compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

"The company continues to focus on exceptional client service and supporting its valued workforce," Griffith said.

The Department of Labor did not respond to requests for comment.

The government filed the case in July 2020, alleging Serene and its owner, Irene Manolias, paid live-in aides for 13 hours in a 24-hour period, even though they worked 16 hours a day or more. The company automatically deducted eight hours for sleep and three hours for meals and rest every 24 hours, regardless of whether the aides actually could sleep or rest, investigators said.

Even when aides reported time worked during sleep periods or break time interruptions, the Labor Department alleged, the company did not pay them for it. It also disciplined and terminated aides who sought to report the unpaid hours, according to court records.

The government later added a retaliation claim to its complaint alleging Serene in 2023 solicited some former live-in aides to sign sworn declarations claiming they were not mistreated. Investigators said the effort was made "under misleading and coercive circumstances" and was meant to interfere in the litigation and discourage employees from cooperating.

The jury ruled in favor of the aides in April 2025, following a four-week trial, finding the company liable for unpaid overtime, improper record keeping and retaliation.

Serene must post a notice of the settlement at its Academy Street headquarters in Patchogue for two years and provide a copy to all of the aides owed money. Manolias and the company’s payroll and timekeeping staff must also undergo federal Fair Labor Standards Act training.