Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
A travel nurse lawsuit can help traveling healthcare workers recover the wages and other benefits they may be owed under labor laws.
What is a Travel Nurse?
Travel nurses are, as their title suggests, nurses which travel to different cities, regions, or states to meet short term staffing needs. Typically, travel nurses are hired by a staffing agency which helps them find short term placements.
No special qualification is required to become a travel nurse. Typically, interested professionals must have an RN license gained through taking the NCLEX-RN following an associate’s or bachelor’s degree program. However, additional certification isn’t needed unless nurses wish to work in specialized fields such as surgery, intensive care, women’s health, or emergency care.
Although a travel nursing position can have exciting benefits such as exploring new places, the most prominent benefit of these positions is the relatively high rate of pay. In addition to a higher salary, travel nurses may be compensated with other types of benefits such as travel reimbursement, free housing, bonuses, per diems, and more.
Is Overtime Guaranteed Under California Labor Law?
California has some of the strictest labor laws in the country – those surrounding overtime wages are no exception.
Individuals who work over 40 hours in a workweek are eligible to collect overtime wages at one and a half time their normal rate. However, California law also entitles workers to overtime wages for hours worked over eight hours but fewer than 12 hours in a single workday.
California law also provides unique “double time” pay for certain excess hours in a workweek. For all hours worked over 12 hours in a single workday, California workers can collect double their regular rate of pay. This double time rate is also paid for hours worked over eight hours in a single workday on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek.
A workers’ regular rate of pay is determined by taking their hourly rate and factoring in any additional by piece or commission payments they receive. Although some workers can easily calculate their work rate by what they make hourly, other workers may have to consider more factors. If these factors are overlooked by their employers, they may be entitled to legal compensation.
What If I Was Denied Overtime While Working As A Travel Nurse?
If you worked as a travel nurse in California but were denied overtime wages and other benefits, you may be able to recover the wages you were owed. Although some nurses in specialized positions may be exempt from these benefits, this is not always true. An experienced lawyer can help examine your case to see if you were owed overtime and other benefits under California labor law.
Can I File a Travel Nurse Lawsuit?
If you were denied overtime and other benefits guaranteed under California labor laws, you may be able to take legal action against your employers. Several traveling healthcare professionals have already taken legal action.
Earlier this year, travel nurses filed a lawsuit against a Kansas-based staffing company – Krucial Staffing. According to the company, Krucial failed to provide travel nurses with the wages they were owed while also failing to provide protective equipment amidst the pandemic.
“No plaintiffs would have done it for any money had they known they were putting their lives at risk, as well as, potentially, their families,” the travel nurse lawsuit contends. “They also wouldn’t have come had they known they would have to violated [sic] normative standards of nursing care.”
Other travel nurse lawsuits have led to settlements. Last year, a $20 million settlement was reached to benefit travel nurses who worked for AMN. Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit said that they were denied overtime pay along with meal and rest periods. This allegedly violated California labor laws. As a result of the travel nurse class action settlement, eligible healthcare professionals could collect cash payments from the $20 million fund which varied depending on the number of eligible weeks worked.
You may be able to join these and other plaintiffs by participating in an existing lawsuit or filing your own complaint against your employer. If successful, you could recover significant compensation such as back wages, penalties, other damages, and more.
The Travel Nurse Lawsuit is Case No. 1:20-cv-02859 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Travel Nurse Class Action Settlement is Case No. 3:16-cv-02816-JCS 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.
This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
One thought on Should You File a Travel Nurse Lawsuit for Labor Law Violations?
Can you recommend a case already gathering or an attorney for similar and other unsafe, prejudiced, unpaid contracts from travel nurse work done in New York for covid19? I refused signing a document in exchange for money offered, to keep quiet.