Nurses Win Class Certification in Fight for Overtime for Travel Nursing

A federal judge in California has certified a class action lawsuit brought against RCM Technologies, Inc. over the way it calculates overtime for travel nursing.

The civil complaint filed with the request for class action certification says RCM Technologies violated California labor laws by omitting the value of per diem and stipend payments in the regular rate of pay when calculating overtime for its travel nurses. The class action lawsuit also claims RCM does not pay its nurses all the money they are owed when the nurses leave the company.

The case was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Oct. 4, 2019 by Plaintiff Rhonda H., a travel nurse from California who worked for RCM Technologies until 2018.

Judge Rules Plaintiffs Meet Criteria for Class Action

To win certification as a class action, a civil suit must meet four criteria: numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation.

On the question of numerosity, the plaintiff or plaintiffs must show there are at least a few dozen potential Class Members, though they are not required to identify them or even provide an exact count at the beginning of the case.

In the overtime for travel nursing case, the plaintiff “proffered evidence” that RCM Technologies shortchanged more than 100 of its employees, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’  ruling said.

Commonality means the allegations made by the proposed Class Members must be the same and typicality means the proposed Class Members suffered the same damage or injury. In the overtime for travel nursing case, the lead plaintiff says RCM Technologies’ practices – which affect all of its travel nurses in the same way – resulted in underpayment, so those criteria are also met, Rogers ruled.

To qualify for class certification, there can be no conflicts of interest among the proposed Class Members and the lawyers representing them must be qualified and experienced. Rogers said she was satisfied that this criteria has also been met in the RCM Technologies case.

Finally, when a proposed class action lawsuit seeks monetary damages for the plaintiffs, they must establish “predominance and superiority,” which means the common issues among the Class Members outweigh any individual issues and that a class action is a better option for the case than traditional individual litigation.

Plaintiff Rhonda H.’s suit “presents the classic case for treatment as a class action,” the judge wrote.

Travel nurses who worked for RCM Technologies for one or more weeks in which they earned overtime pay and a weekly per diem or stipend between October 2015 and October 2020 are now eligible to become Class Members.

Claims Focus on RCM’s Policy on Overtime for Travel Nursing

Travel nurse Rhonda filed the class action against RCM Technologies after working as an hourly employee and discovering the company did not include the value of her per diems and stipends when calculating her overtime pay rate. When she left the company in 2018, she claims it also did not pay her all the overtime she was owed.

Traditionally, per diem payments and stipends are given to employees to cover their expenses – for food, clothing or housing. RCM’s travel nurses earn per diem payments and stipends if they work a prescribed minimum number of hours each week, regardless of their expenses, the class action lawsuit says. That means the payments fluctuate with each pay period and the travel nurses had to earn it by working a set number of hours each week.

Even though the per diem payments and stipends are treated like earned salary, they are left out of the formula in calculating a worker’s overtime pay rate, the class action lawsuit claims. That policy violates California’s unfair business practices and overtime payment laws, lawyers for the plaintiff’s claim.

RCM also failed to pay Rhonda the overtime for travel nursing she was due when she left the company, which she claims is company practice and not specific to her personally. Doing so violates another of California’s labor laws, the class action says.

Travel Nursing At a Glance

“Travel nurses are registered nurses who work in short-term roles at hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities around the world … [helping] fill gaps in areas where there are nursing shortages,” according to Nurse.org. Rather than work for individual hospitals, they work for staffing companies like RCM Technologies and are typically assigned to hospitals and in-patient care facilities on a temporary basis.

Per diem payments for meals and stipends for travel and housing are typical in travel nursing, and overtime for travel nursing is common.

The Overtime for Travel Nursing Class Action Lawsuit is Case No. 4:19-cv-06363-YGR in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Free Travel Nurse (And Other Travel Healthcare Professional) Wage and Workplace Violation Class Action Lawsuit Evaluation

If you are a travel nurse (or other travel healthcare professional) who has worked in California in the last four years and have experienced employment rights violations, you may be eligible to file a travel nurse pay lawsuit.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.