Nurse sues Texas hospital for allegedly working through lunch without pay

A nurse sued Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System on grounds the system required her to work through her lunch break without pay, The Houston Chronicle reported.

In the lawsuit filed Friday to the U.S. District Court in Houston, Meghan Stewart claims she and more than 4,000 Memorial Hermann workers were not paid for care they provided during lunch breaks.

The lawsuit states that while employees were required to clock in at the start of a shift and clock out at the end, they did not have to clock out for lunch. However, Memorial Hermann still withdrew 30 minutes of pay from their workdays, The Houston Chronicle reported.  

Similar claims were made in Texas in 2014 when a nurse filed a lawsuit on behalf of more than 5,000 workers alleging Houston Methodist Hospital required employees to work during their lunch breaks. The suit was settled Friday, though no terms were disclosed.

Another nurse at North Cypress (Texas) Medical Center filed a lawsuit claiming she had to work without pay during lunch breaks. The hospital paid an undisclosed amount of overtime and back wages to its nurses, The Houston Chronicle reported.

The Memorial Hermann case involves nurses who have worked the past three years at Texas Medical Center and other hospitals in Memorial City, Houston and The Woodlands. 

 

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