ST.LOUIS — A Missouri federal judge recently handed down a ruling allowing a class action unpaid overtime lawsuit brought by a group of home health care workers to proceed against the defendant, St. Louis based SSM Home Care, to recover the class’s lost wages. The lawsuit is one of many similar claims filed by other home healthcare workers against other companies claiming defendants played hard and fast with job duty classifications in their attempts to keep business costs down at the expense of worker pay.
The unpaid overtime class action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Missouri, alleges that the defendant forced workers in Missouri, Illinois, and Oklahoma to perform work off the clock for no pay. SSM Home Care employs an estimated 33,000 workers in 18 hospitals, two nursing homes, a physician network, and a home health care and hospice network. The plaintiffs in this case worked in patient’s homes, providing health care and domestic services.
SSM Home Care attempted to break up the class action so that each plaintiff would have to bring an individual claim against the company, on the grounds the plaintiffs were not similarly situated enough to warrant class status. Fortunately for the plaintiffs, the federal judge hearing the case denied the defendant’s request and allowed all current and former hourly wage earning nurses employed from three years ago to the present to join the claim and potentially recover their lost wages.
The plaintiffs, all registered practical nurses, claim they were forced to perform work duties like filling out patient charts and reports from home but were never compensated for these overtime hours despite providing paperwork to corroborate their time spent working. Calling this an intentional violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the plaintiffs seek three years of unpaid overtime wages plus interest, liquidated damages, court costs, and attorneys fees to cover the expenses of bringing the suit.
Home Health Care Nurse Overtime Pay Lawsuit
Call (855) 754-2795 or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form on the top right of this page if you believe that your wage rights are being violated under the FLSA. Our top-rated team of unpaid wage lawyers will evaluate your situation to determine your best course of action to help you seek justice.
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