Thirty current and former employees of a Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health surgery center will go before the California Labor Commissioner May 7, asking for lost wages and penalties for missed meal and rest breaks, The Sacramento Bee reports.
Individual complaints range from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars in lost wages and penalties, according to the report. California law requires employers to give a 30-minute meal break within the first five hours of work and a 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked beyond that. For every meal break that is denied, the employer must compensate workers with an additional hour of pay.
Sutter Health denies wrongdoing. "We have reviewed and investigated these particular claims and believe these employees have been paid appropriately," Sutter spokesperson Nancy Turner said in a statement. "We respect our employees' rights to pursue their individual claims through the independent review of the California Labor Commissioner."
Former Sutter employee John Damigos, who won a wage-and-hour dispute against Sutter a few years ago, advised the employees on their cases, according to the report.
Read the full story here.
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