A class action wage lawsuit against a nurse staffing company, Rise Medical Staffing, has had their $2 million settlement approved by the court. California based travel nurses employed by Rise Medical Staffing were allegedly incorrectly paid their overtime rates when working over 40 hours per work week which prompted the age lawsuit. Rise Medical is health care staffing company that employs hourly health care professionals for short-term travel assignments at health care providers throughout California.
In addition to an hourly pay, travel nurses were told they’d receive housing per diems as well as meals and incidental per diems. Nurses alleged that these per diem reimbursements tied into the number of hours they worked. In turn, when Rise Medical Staffing calculated their overtime pay, they did not take this extra compensation into consideration. The wage lawsuit alleged it should have been counted towards their regular rates when calculating overtime wages. A district court actually ruled that the nurses’ meal and rest break premiums should be should be considered base pay and incorporated into their regular rate of pay. Over 1,500 nurses and therapists stand to benefit from this settlement.
If your employer does not pay you the typical hourly or set salary method but rather in combination of methods such as day rate, per diem, and hourly pay, it may be helpful to discuss with an employment lawyer if you are being paid in accordance with the law. Many employers, either willingly or unknowingly, fail to calculate correct rates of pay especially when working over 40 hours in a week. Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP offers a free phone consultation that can help you determine if you may have a claim for unpaid wages. Call one of our available representatives at (212) 300-0375 for a free and confidential consultation now. You may also view additional information on our website here.