Does HCA owe you back pay?

[obrn23]

HCA may owe you back pay for lunches that you worked.

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, during an unpaid meal period:

Nurses must report off and completely relinquish care.

Nurses should not be expected to chart any changes in condition, fetal heart tones, vital signs, etc that occurred during their break.

Nurses should not be expected to answer calls or pages during their break.

Nurses should not monitor any phone line, even if no calls come in.

Nurses should not be expected to monitor their patients from TVs or computers placed in the break rooms.

If the hospital's size or staffing is such that a nurse cannot take his/her break legally, that nurse must be compensated for that time since he/she is unable to completely and safely relinquish care.

The existence of a no lunch” exception book has not proven to be a viable defense in past cases. Hospitals often discourage writing in no lunch, and make it difficult and intimidating by mandating it be approved by a supervisor. Often times, nurses would rather remain silent, than push for their earned wage.

Another issue addressed by the FLSA is that of combining smaller breaks.

Many third shift nursing home employees prefer to take three ten-minute breaks instead of their 30-minute unpaid meal break. Is it okay for them to substitute the (smaller) breaks for their meal break? No, the employee must be compensated for the smaller breaks.”

How much money do they owe me?

The amount of back pay in this case would likely be double the amount of the wage you are owed if the hospital's violation is considered willful under the law. This could mean you are entitled to pay for every single lunch break you have worked x2 during your employment, possibly more if you worked any overtime shifts.

For a full time nurse making $30/hr, the amount of back pay you are owed could be over $14,000, much higher if differential/overtime/call back shifts were worked. This does not take into account additional damages that are often awarded in these cases.

Any employee who has worked for HCA for any period of time over the past three years is eligible to sign up for this collective action. If you know anyone who may have been affected, please pass this information along.

To learn more about how to claim your due wages please contact Jack Siegel.

email- [email protected]

telephone- 512.585.3663

**HCA has stated that they have strict zero tolerance anti-retaliation policies in place. Your job and/or future references are protected under the law.