Royal Health Care Settles Overtime Class Action Lawsuit for $2M

Royal Health Care of Long Island LLC has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that the company violated federal and state labor laws by not paying some employees their overtime pay.

The overtime settlement, which calls for the health care company to pay $1.94 million to settle the lawsuit, will resolve allegations that the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York state labor laws as alleged by plaintiffs who worked for eight or more weeks at Royal Health Care from May 2006 to May 2013.

“Plaintiffs alleged that Defendant misclassified Plaintiffs’ positions as Representatives as exempt from the overtime provisions of the FLSA and NYLL and thereby failed to pay Plaintiffs overtime pay when they worked over forty hours in a workweek,” the overtime lawsuit contends.

The class action lawsuit started with lead plaintiffs Chandrakalli Sukhnandan, Farhana Akter, Tara Singh-Paltoo and Sonia Bailey but ballooned to 411 Class Members after notice was served.

Rather than prolong the case, which would require plaintiffs to prove that they were not engaged in sales and therefore not exempt from FLSA’s outside sales exemption, the proposed class action settlement was deemed acceptable for both parties. The memorandum on the proposed settlement even argued that a deeper discovery on the case would make it more difficult for plaintiffs to establish that they worked the hours that they claim to have worked.

A Final Fairness Hearing will be held on Jan. 6, 2014. If approved, the $1.94 million will be distributed proportionally among the Class Members based on number of weeks worked at Royal Health Care. A incentive award of $10,000 each will also be given to the four original named plaintiffs. Attorneys’ fees would amount to one-third of the total class action settlement fund, totaling $649,666.

The Royal Health Care Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit is Chandrakalli Sukhnandan et al. v. Royal Health Care of Long Island LLC, Case No. 1:12-cv-04216, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Help for Victims of Wage & Hour, Unpaid Overtime Violations

Going up against a large corporation for wage and hour violations can be daunting, but banding together with other victims through a class action lawsuit can save you time, money and resources. If you were forced to work overtime or off the clock without overtime pay, were denied meal breaks, were paid less than minimum wage or suffered some other wage and hour violation, you may have the right to seek back pay and penalties from your current or former employer. Don’t delay though: the statute of limitations under the FLSA is 2 to 3 years, depending on the state. Find out if you qualify by filling out the short form at the Wage & Hour, Overtime Pay Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.