Prime Healthcare Hit With Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit

A social worker who has worked at Prime Healthcare Centinela LLC  since March 2011, filed an unpaid overtime lawsuit against the California company alleging that it failed to pay overtime and provide meal and rest breaks in accordance with state labor laws.

She is filing the wage and hour lawsuit on behalf of all hourly employees who worked for Prime Healthcare since April 2010, which is approximately 400 employees at its 12 California hospitals.

“In violation of state law, defendants have knowingly and willfully refused to perform their obligations to compensate plaintiffs for all wages earned and all hours worked,” the wage and hour lawsuit claims. “As a direct result, plaintiffs have suffered, and continue to suffer, substantial losses related to the use and enjoyment of such wages.”

According to the class action lawsuit, Prime Healthcare initiated policies wherein hourly employees would be “taken off the clock” for any number of reasons — when the employee was actually forced to continue working. This includes “indicating the end of a worker’s official shift or falsely accounting that a meal break was taken.” As such, Prime Healthcare employees often worked overtime hours, but did not pay time-and-a-half as required under California law.

Additionally, the wage and hour lawsuit alleges that Prime Healthcare didn’t provide employees with accurate wage statements and failed to pay employees in a timely manner. Beauchamp believes “that since at least 2010, Defendants have required all non-unionized employees to sign an Agreement to Arbitrate Claims and have used coercion, including but not limited to threat of job loss or refusal to hire, to obtain Class Members’ signatures on arbitration agreements and replacement agreements.”

The unpaid overtime lawsuit is Case No. BC542351, in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles.

Labor Law Violations

This is not the first time employees have filed unpaid overtime lawsuits against Prime Healthcare over its overtime policies. In June 2011, respiratory therapist Michael Fenison, licensed vocational nurse Jacob Marhefky, and surgical technician Monique Hemphill filed a class action lawsuit alleging Prime Healthcare “engaged in an unlawful payment scheme to avoid complying with state overtime requirements.” According to court records, the company agreed to pay the class $1.08 million to settle the claims.

California labor law and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) require employers to compensate individuals for overtime and to provide sufficient break and meal time. By engaging in this alleged conduct, Beauchamp alleges Prime Healthcare is in violation of California’s Business and Professions Code, a number of Labor Laws, and the federal FLSA. She is seeking damages and civil penalties.

Class action lawsuits alleging wage and hour violations have risen substantially, with the most common complaint being unpaid overtime. Many workers are forced to work off the clock without overtime pay and are misclassified as exempt from overtime pay, as employers try to get the most out of employees while cutting costs. Other complaints include unpaid wages, missed meals and breaks, off-the-clock and being paid less than minimum wage.

Join a Free Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay compensation within the past 2 to 3 years, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone. Learn more and obtain a free evaluation of your case to see if you’re eligible for back pay and other compensation at the Wage & Hour, Overtime Pay Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.