Former caregivers filed a class action lawsuit against one of the nation’s largest providers of post-acute care services for alleged failure to pay minimum wage and overtime, among other claims.
Plaintiffs Ginger Rogers and Emma Delores Hawkins contend that Kindred Healthcare, Inc. — and affiliated companies Professional Healthcare at Home, LLC, and NP Plus, LLC — did not pay for all hours worked, even when they had 24-hour shifts, according to a Wednesday press release.
“When a worker works 24-hour shifts, the flat rate is actually below the minimum wage,” attorney Hina Shah told McKnight’s. “They (Kindred and affiliates) can’t waive their rights to minimum wage and time.”
Kindred and its affiliates also failed “to comply with the rules that govern caregivers working in California care facilities by failing to pay applicable overtime or to provide meal and rest breaks,” the press release stated.
“What we’re hoping is that workers will be paid what their rights are, which is a right to be paid,” Shah, the co-director of the Women’s Employment Rights Clinic at Golden Gate University School of Law, said. “What the workers want is for the company to follow the correct laws.”
For now, the lawsuit is undergoing the “discovery period” where both parties can investigate, Shah added.
Kindred Healthcare has yet to receive the lawsuit and will not make any public comments until they investigate the matter, Susan Moss, senior vice president of marketing and communications, told McKnight’s.
“However, we intend to defend this matter vigorously,” she said.
