Chillicothe, Ohio-based Adena Health System is accused in a federal proposed class-action lawsuit of failing to fully and properly pay employees overtime wages, according to court documents accessed by Becker's.
The lawsuit, filed Aug. 18, alleges Adena forced hourly, non-exempt healthcare employees to shorten their lunch breaks to provide patient care and perform substantive work duties, while the hospital still deducted a full half hour, regardless if the employee had a full lunch, shortened lunch or no lunch.
Samantha Simpson is listed as the plaintiff in the case. Ms. Simpson said she previously worked as a medical assistant at Adena's health center in Waverly, Ohio, and filed the lawsuit on behalf of herself and other similarly situated workers.
The lawsuit alleges that she and other workers regularly worked more than 40 hours per week, or they would have done so "if their hours were not reduced by the meal break deductions. However, they were not paid one-and-one-half times (1.5x) their regular rates of pay for all [overtime hours] as a result of [Adena's] meal break deduction policy."
The lawsuit contends the health system's actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and Ohio law.
Adena shared the following statement with Becker's: "Adena Health's focus to provide top-rated patient care is supported by the importance of the health and well-being of our providers and employees. While we cannot speak about the details of pending litigation, we're confident that our policies follow all labor law guidelines."
The lawsuit seeks unpaid wages and liquidated damages.