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Overtime Case Filed Against Healthcare Ventures Of Ohio And Peregrine Health Services For Healthcare Employees

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Coffman Legal’s Ohio FLSA Overtime Attorneys filed a Collective and Class Action Lawsuit against Healthcare Ventures of Ohio, LLC, Peregrine Health Services, Inc., Peregrine Health Services of Columbus, LLC , Peregrine Health Services of Cincinnati, LLC, and Peregrine Health Services of Edgerton, LLC for the alleged failure to pay hourly healthcare employees for all overtime pay the earned. The overtime claims result from the alleged failure to properly calculate employees’ overtime rates of pay (when they receive additional compensation), failure to pay for missed or interrupted meal breaks, and the unlawful deductions made to employees’ pay bringing their pay to less than minimum wage.

On August 7, 2020, the law firm of Coffman Legal, LLC filed a Collective and Class Action Complaint against Defendants Healthcare Ventures of Ohio, LLC (“HVO”), Peregrine Health Services, Inc. (“Peregrine”), Peregrine Health Services of Columbus, LLC (“Peregrine Columbus”), Peregrine Health Services of Cincinnati, LLC (“Peregrine Cincinnati”), and Peregrine Health Services of Edgerton, LLC (“Peregrine Edgerton”) (collectively “Defendants”) on behalf of hourly healthcare employees for the alleged failure of Defendants to compensate their employees for overtime wages earned for all overtime work performed in violation of the Fair Labor Standard Act (“FLSA”). Defendants operated numerous facilities throughout Ohio, including but not limited to Autumn Court, Brookview Healthcare Center, Columbus Alzheimer Care Center, The Convalarium, Cridersville Healthcare Center, Echo Manor, The Gardens at Celina, The Gardens of Paulding, The Gardens at St. Henry, The Gardens at Wapakoneta, Heatherdowns Rehabilitation & Residential Center, McCrea Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Oak Grove Manor, Oak Pavilion Nursing Center, Park View Nursing Center, and Summit’s Trace Healthcare Center. Hourly healthcare employees include, but are not limited to, Registered Nurses (“RNs”), Licensed Practical Nurses (“LPNs”), and State Tested Nursing Assistants (“STNAs”).

HVO is a company that provides transitional care, rehabilitation therapy, assisted living, long-term nursing, and Alzheimer’s care that operates in the State of Ohio. Peregrine is a corporation and long-term care organization with 16 facilities located throughout Ohio, which provide substantially similar services as HVO. Again, at a minimum the following facilities are likely at issue in this lawsuit: Autumn Court, Brookview Healthcare Center, Columbus Alzheimer Care Center, The Convalarium / Convalarium at Indian Run, Cridersville Healthcare Center, The Gardens at Celina, The Gardens of Paulding, The Gardens at St. Henry, Heatherdowns Rehabilitation & Residential Center, McCrea Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, and Oak Grove Manor. Peregrine Columbus, Peregrine Cincinnati, and Peregrine Edgerton are companies that provide substantially similar services as HVO and operate throughout Ohio.

The Complaint states that Defendants promised hourly healthcare employees that they would receive retention bonuses after working for Defendants for certain lengths of time. Although these employees may have received such bonuses, those bonuses were allegedly not factored into their regular rate of pay for determining when paying overtime (which is to be paid at one and one-half times an employees’ regular rate of pay).

In addition, the Complaint claims that Defendants deduct 30 minutes of time from employees’ daily hours worked for meal breaks that were not taken at all or that were only partially taken. Meanwhile, healthcare employees allege that they were either could not take their meal break or their meal breaks were otherwise interrupted by work, such as providing care to residents.

Finally, the Complaint alleges that Defendants unlawfully deduct pay from hourly healthcare employees’ paychecks in an attempt to reclaim a portion of retention bonus already given to an employee if that employee does not stay employed through the next retention-bonus period. As a result, these employees may discover their last paycheck to be zeroed-out or show a negative amount even though they performed work during that pay period and must be compensated at a rate not less than the minimum wage.

The lawsuit seeks unpaid overtime wages since August 7, 2017, liquidated damages in an amount equal to the unpaid overtime, attorney’s fees, and costs, among other things.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division (Columbus) and is titled Shiflet v. Healthcare Ventures of Ohio, LLC et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-3428.

You may seek additional information about the lawsuit by contacting our office.

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