Caregivers can often work around-the-clock shifts in nursing homes, but many are denied overtime pay.

The Renaissance at South Shore nursing home in Chicago has been found in violation of overtime laws twice since 2009. In the first instance, the company had to pay about $5,000 in back wages to 39 employees, and in the second case, it owed 295 workers a total of $138,000. The company not only failed to pay time and a half, it also automatically deducted 30-minute meal periods from employees' work hours, even when employees didn't take those breaks, the Department of Labor said.

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