Nurses of Legacy Health in Portland, Ore., filed a class action lawsuit Dec. 26 alleging the system failed to properly compensate them and denied uninterrupted meal and rest breaks, according to The Oregonian.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of all nurses in the health system in U.S. District Court in the name of Julianne Hunter, a nurse for Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland. Ms. Hunter worked for Legacy from 2009 to 2016. During this time, she alleges she was regularly interrupted during lunch breaks and performed uncompensated work off the clock. This included cleaning and work with patients, staff, medical charts and equipment, according to the report.
Legacy Health deducts pay from each nurse shift for a 30-minute meal break. However, the lawsuit alleges nurses are still required to respond to physicians, other staff, patients and families during this time. The class-action suit seeks unpaid wages, overtime and civil penalties of $200 for each violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to the report.
The health system does not comment on legal matters, a Legacy spokesman told The Oregonian.
Legacy Health employs more than 2,700 registered nurses. It has faced at least four other lawsuits for meal and rest period violations, according to the report.
Read the full story here.
More articles on legal and regulatory issues:
Ambulance company pays $300K to resolve false billing probe
Illinois nurses receive $7.9M settlement after hostage incident
Flowers Hospital settles lawsuit 5 years after data breach