St. Charles Hospital in Bend, Ore., is facing a lawsuit filed May 9 by a former employee claiming that the health system repeatedly violated meal break policies and underpaid staff, according to court documents.
The lawsuit was filed in the Multnomah County (Ore.) Circuit Court by Anna Ford, RN. It could eventually represent up to hundreds of current and former staff, according to The Lund Report.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of a series of complaints filed May 5 by nurses to the Oregon Health Authority. In addition, St. Charles Health is also facing a separate $2.5 million lawsuit filed by 11 other employees in early May alleging the system violated their religious freedoms.
Alandra Johnson, a public information officer for St. Charles Health told The Lund Report in a statement that it does not believe "there is any merit to these claims and will vigorously defend against them." She also said the system works with employees to ensure they can receive uninterrupted meals and that the system is "confident that we are appropriately paying caregivers in accordance with the law."
Becker's reached out to both St. Charles Health and Ms. Ford's attorney for additional information related to the new case and will update this story if new information becomes available.