Getting paid for doing work is a fundamental part of employment. It is not uncommon for employers to cut corners and neglect to pay employees appropriately. Wage and hour laws were put into place in California and across the United States to make sure that all employees are compensated fairly. Several nurses in another state filed a lawsuit over allegations that they were not paid for working overtime.
According to the lawsuit, the nurses did not receive overtime pay and were also not paid their regular hourly rate or even minimum wage. Allegedly, the nurses regularly worked more than 40 hours a week during the weeks that they were on call. The nurses say they routinely received calls, texts and emails about patient-related matters and were required to respond.
The nurses claim that the defendant’s on-call policy stated that employees would be paid one and half times the employee’s base salary in 15-minute increments. However, the plaintiffs allege that, regardless of time spent working, they were paid between two and four dollars an hour for the entire on-call shift. The plaintiffs are asking to be paid the appropriate rates only for the active time they are working while on call.
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay hourly employees at a rate of one and a half times regular pay for any time worked beyond 40 hours per week. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for employers to violate these wage and hour laws. Employees who feel that they have been subjected to unfair acts could benefit from discussions with a legal representative. Damages from a successful claim could replace lost wages and other monetary losses.