An investigation of Perry Community Hospital in Linden, Tenn., resulted in the recovery of $163,785 in back wages for 72 former employees, the U.S. Labor Department said.
The Labor Department's wage and hour division found that the hospital missed three payrolls last November, which violated the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage and overtime requirements, and cited the hospital's operator, Expertus Health. Investigators also found that the hospital violated federal law when it deducted break time from employees' work hours.
"Amid the pandemic, Linden hospital essential healthcare workers demonstrated their commitment to their jobs and communities when they worked long hours at a risk to themselves and their families. Yet, the hospital failed to meet its responsibilities to 72 of these workers when it did not pay them in accordance with federal law," the Labor Department said in a Sept. 15 news release. "Underpayment and missed payrolls added financial stress to the enormous burden already carried by the workers."
Perry Community Hospital suspended all services Nov. 27, 2020, and has not reopened.
The hospital told Becker's Sept. 22 it had no comment.