Seven current and former nurses at CHI Health St. Elizabeth in Lincoln, Neb., have filed a federal lawsuit against the hospital's parent company, Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives, according to The World-Herald.
Four things to know:
1. The nurses allege CHI underpays them for on-call work and overtime work they perform while on call in violation of state and federal wage laws.
2. According to the lawsuit, CHI is violating the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Nebraska Wage Payment and Collection Act, and the Nebraska Wage Act by paying the nurses between $2 and $4 an hour for on-call work, including responding to work-related calls, emails and texts. That amount falls below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and Nebraska's minimum wage of $9 per hour, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.
3. "CHI Health is looking into all matters raised in that complaint and will handle all appropriately," a CHI spokesperson said in an emailed statement to the Lincoln Star Journal. "Because this involves litigation, CHI Health cannot comment on any facts of the matter. CHI Health takes serious the allegations raised in this complaint, and is committed to full compliance with the law and fair treatment for all of its employees," the spokesperson said.
4. The nurses' lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, asks the court to award back wages, retirement contributions and interest due on both.
More articles on legal and regulatory issues:
Intermountain: Whistle-blower provisions of False Claims Act are unconstitutional
Physician gets 75 months in prison for role in false billing scheme
UPMC to litigate over Highmark consent decree