U.S. Department of Labor Wage Hour Division "investigators found the hospital automatically deducted time from emergency room and labor and delivery employees’ timecards for meal breaks even when they worked through those breaks. This unpaid work time resulted in overtime being due when it occurred in workweeks longer than 40 hours. By improperly deducting the time, the employer also produced inaccurate records of the number of hours employees actually worked, violating FLSA recordkeeping requirements."
February 5, 2020 U.S. Department of Labor press release, here.
February 5, 2020 U.S. Department of Labor press release, here.
Here's the U.S. Department of Labor press release and St. Augustine Record article on Flagler Hospital's $107,185 ripoff of 141 Flagler Hospital employees:
News Release
ST. AUGUSTINE HOSPITAL TO PAY $107,185 IN OVERTIME WAGES AFTER U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR INVESTIGATION FINDS VIOLATIONS
ST. AUGUSTINE, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Flagler Hospital Inc. – based in St. Augustine, Florida – will pay $107,185 in back wages to 141 employees for violating the overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
WHD investigators found the hospital automatically deducted time from emergency room and labor and delivery employees’ timecards for meal breaks even when they worked through those breaks. This unpaid work time resulted in overtime being due when it occurred in workweeks longer than 40 hours. By improperly deducting the time, the employer also produced inaccurate records of the number of hours employees actually worked, violating FLSA recordkeeping requirements.
“Non-profit organizations are not excluded from the pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Wage and Hour District Director Daniel White, in Jacksonville, Florida. “Employees must be paid all the wages they have legally earned. We encourage all employers to reach out to us for assistance and to use the variety of tools we offer to ensure that their pay practices comply with federal law.”
The department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.
For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd.
WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.
The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.
Agency
Wage and Hour Division
Date
February 5, 2020
Release Number
20-139-ATL
Contact: Michael D'Aquino
Contact: Eric R. Lucero
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From St. Augustine Record, shortened version of USDOL press release, unadorned by the information on how to report violations, adding a meaningless, self-serving quotation from a non-lawyer working in Flagler Hospital mismanagement:
Flagler Hospital ordered to pay employees $107,000 in back wages
Christen Kelley
Feb 5, 2020 at 4:37 PM
Feb 6, 2020 at 10:26 AM
Following an investigation, Flagler Hospital will pay $107,185 in back wages to 141 employees for violating federal overtime and recordkeeping requirements, according to a release Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the hospital had automatically deducted time from emergency room and labor and delivery employees‘ timecards for meal breaks even when they were working through those breaks.
This resulted in overtime being owed as well as inaccurate records of the number of hours employees actually worked, violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.
"Non-profit organizations are not excluded from the pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act," Wage and Hour District Director Daniel White said in a press release. "Employees must be paid all the wages they have legally earned. We encourage all employers to reach out to us for assistance and to use the variety of tools we offer to ensure that their pay practices comply with federal law."
Gina Mangus, vice president of strategy and business development at Flagler Hospital, said in a statement that the violation was the result of an technology issue.
"Flagler Hospital experienced an issue with our timekeeping system that resulted in a failure to appropriately account for employee lunch breaks for a small number of departments," the statement said. "The individuals affected have been identified and properly compensated. Flagler Hospital has since put a manual system in place to resolve the issue, and the organization is in the process of upgrading our enterprise-wide timekeeping software. Our team members are our most precious resource at Flagler Health+ and we would never intentionally fail to compensate employees for their time. We are committed to upholding our core values of quality, service, innovation and integrity in every way."
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