Madera, Calif.-based Valley Children's Healthcare recently proposed a settlement that would give about $50 to each employee in a lawsuit alleging the hospital did not pay sufficient wages. However, one nurse said she is owed more than 500 times that amount and filed a motion to prevent her own lawsuit from being precluded, The San Joaquin Valley Sun reported.
Bonnie Ferreria filed a lawsuit against the hospital in June to receive all wages owed to her, alleging Valley Children's paid on-call employees $6 to $8 per hour, which is less than minimum wage and violates California law, she said. According to the lawsuit, $5 million total is owed to affected employees, the Sun reported.
"When the employee was called back to work at the hospital, and returned to the hospital, a different rate would apply, but the employee would, at times, forfeit the less-than-minimum wage on-call pay," the lawsuit reads, according to the Sun.
However, Ms. Ferreria recently learned of a preliminary settlement in a separate class-action lawsuit in which Valley Children's would pay employees $400,000 total to settle all of its wage claims, the Sun reported. It stems from Briana Westfall and Gloria Garcia v. Valley Children's Hospital, which was filed in October 2022 and claimed the hospital did not provide meal and rest breaks or pay employees overtime wages.
In the preliminary settlement notice, Ms. Ferreria learned she would receive $54.58 in the deal. She said she is owed at least $27,832, the Sun reported.
Ms. Ferreria filed a motion to allow intervention in the Westfall case in order to file a complaint opposing the proposed settlement. The settlement includes a clause regarding the "release of all claims arising out of their employment with" Valley Children's.
Brian Whelan, Ms. Ferreria's attorney, said in a declaration that the proposed settlement would prohibit Ms. Ferreira from proceeding with her lawsuit, the Sun wrote. He also alleged that he was not made aware of the Westfall case despite the settlement's potential to affect his client's lawsuit.
A hearing for Ms. Ferreria's request is scheduled for Sept. 26, according to the Sun.
"Although Valley Children's Hospital strongly denies all allegations in the Westfall lawsuit, we've agreed to a settlement so we and our employees can focus on providing high-quality healthcare to our patients and our community, rather than on litigation. The court has preliminarily approved the settlement," hospital spokesperson Zara Arboleda said in a statement shared with Becker's. "A duplicate lawsuit, known as the Ferreira matter, similarly is without merit. Its potential claims will be settled under the 'Westfall' resolution. Valley Children's looks forward to putting these cases behind us."
Editor's note: This story was updated as of 4:05 p.m. Sept. 10.