Syracuse, N.Y.-based St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center and Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health System dodged a class action lawsuit alleging they failed to properly pay employees for overtime hours, according to court documents.
Terisa Hudson, the nominal plaintiff who worked at St. Joseph's as a licensed practical nurse from October 2015 through January 2021, failed to provide all required documentation in a motion to amend, according to court records. The motion to amend was filed in response to a dismissal motion filed by the defendants on the grounds she had not sufficiently alleged the organizations failed to pay her for overtime hours.
The defendants' motion to dismiss was granted, according to court documents. Ms. Hudson was given 14 days to renew and correct her motion to amend.
She alleged she typically worked between four and five days per week, with shifts between eight and 12 hours apiece, resulting in workweeks of between 32 and 60 hours. She was paid biweekly, but allegedly was not paid overtime for weeks in which she worked more than 40 hours in two-week pay periods of fewer than 80 hours, according to court documents. She also alleged the defendants failed to provide wage notices containing all required information.
When Ms. Hudson brought the matter to the human resources department at St. Joseph's in 2016, she was allegedly told the policy was to pay overtime for two-week pay periods accounting for more than 80 work hours.
If the case is reopened following a corrected motion to amend, the plaintiffs are seeking $50 for each week in which they did not receive a proper wage notice, or a total of $5000, for each individual represented in the class action. They also seek "the amount of unpaid wages and overtime wages to be determined at trial, plus liquidated damages in the amount equal to the amount of unpaid wages, plus interest, attorneys' fees and costs."