Industry Focus: Healthcare wage and hour class actions
Shareholder at Littler Mendelson P.C., Angelo Spinola, was recently interviewed by The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel about wage and hour class actions in the healthcare industry.
He points out that although the FLSA was enacted 1938, wage and hour litigation was sparse until approximately 15 years ago, and now 91% of current labor and employment class action suits are wage and hour related. He cites the following reasons for the abundance of suits:
- Lower standard for class certification in FLSA matters
- Larger pool of potential class members
- Wage and hour class actions challenge a broad pay practice
- Financial incentive to pursue wage and hour cases as legal fees are paid on contingency to plaintiffs’ attorneys
When asked why healthcare is one of the most targeted industries for wage and hour suits, Spinola points to the unpredictable nature of work in healthcare. Caring for patients with immediate and unpredictable needs, missed meal breaks and overtime are common. Spinola also mentions the prevalence of highly compensated professionals, “such as registered nurses who are treated as non-exempt notwithstanding their significant hourly rate.” Higher pay rates lead to higher damages, which lead to higher attorney fees.
The Department of Labor (DOL) has been active in investigating claims of wage and hour violation claims, and Spinola explains that the healthcare industry receives a large portion of the DOL’s attention. Additionally, “sophisticated plaintiffs’ counsel’ actively solicit wage and hour clients via marketing in newspapers and direct mailers.
Spinola explains that the most common wage and hour claims in this industry include unpaid overtime and off-the-clock work. He also mentioned seeing an unprecedented number of misclassification claims, as the professional exemption for nurses is more contested than ever before.
You can read the full interview here.