UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR v. AMERICARE HEALTHCARE SERVICES, INC.; DILLI ADHIKARI - Articles

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR v. AMERICARE HEALTHCARE SERVICES, INC.; DILLI ADHIKARI

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Apr 1, 2026

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: James R. Conde, BOYDEN GRAY PLLC, Washington, D.C., for Appellants. Lindsey Rothfeder, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, Washington, D.C., for Appellee

Attorneys 2: ON BRIEF: James R. Conde, BOYDEN GRAY PLLC, Washington, D.C., Daniel McArdle Booker, MAXWELL & HIPPEL LLP, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for Appellants.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: Lindsey Rothfeder, Amelia Bell Bryson, Rachel Goldberg, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, Washington, D.C., for Appellee.

Judge(s): STRANCH, BUSH, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio at Columbus

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. This is an enforcement proceeding against Americare Healthcare Services, Inc., a third-party provider of home care services, and its owner, Mr. Dilli Adhikari, for failing to compensate their employees in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for overtime hours worked between October 2018 and October 2021. Under a regulation promulgated by the Department of Labor in 2013, third-party employers of home care workers are not permitted to claim either the “Companionship Services Exemption” or the “Live-In Exemption” to the FLSA’s overtime requirements. Americare and Adhikari contend the regulation is invalid under the Administrative Procedure Act and, thus, that the FLSA’s overtime requirements are not enforceable against them because they are entitled to avail themselves of either statutory exemption. The district court disagreed and granted summary judgment to the Department. Americare and Adhikari also seek to challenge a regulation that narrowed the definition of “companionship services” under the FLSA, but the district court found they lacked standing. Because we find the third-party regulation is a valid exercise of the Secretary of Labor’s expressly delegated authority as to both exemptions, and that Americare and Adhikari lack standing to challenge the “companionship services” definition, we AFFIRM.

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