Coffman Legal’s FLSA Overtime Attorneys filed a Collective and Class Action Lawsuit against Majestic Care and Wise Medical Staffing, Inc. (“Wise”) in Ohio for failing to compensate their hourly and non-exempt healthcare employees working at all Majestic Care facilities fully for all time that they spent working.
On April 1, 2021, the law firm of Coffman Legal, LLC filed a Collective and Class Action Complaint against Majestic Care (“Majestic Care”) through various Majestic Care entities and Wise Medical Staffing, Inc. (“Wise”) (collectively “Defendants”) on behalf of healthcare employees for the alleged failure of Majestic Care and Wise to compensate hourly healthcare employees all overtime wages earned for all overtime work performed in violation of the Fair Labor Standard Act (“FLSA”).
Majestic Care operates in the state of Ohio and Indiana. Wise is a company that provides healthcare employee staffing to Majestic Care and other healthcare facilities.
The Complaint alleges that Defendants required a daily 30-minute meal break deduction from healthcare employees’ compensable hours worked. However, this period of 30 minutes was alleged to be off-the-clock and/or deducted from healthcare employees’ daily hours regardless of whether or not they actually received an uninterrupted (free of any work) 30-minute meal break.
The FLSA requires an employer to pay employees for their work. If an employer is going to require a meal break deduction, then such meal break must be a bona fide meal period. A bona fide meal period under the law is defined as:
- Bona fide meal periods are not worktime. Bona fide meal periods do not include coffee breaks or time for snacks. These are rest periods. The employee must be completely relieved from duty for the purposes of eating regular meals. Ordinarily 30 minutes or more is long enough for a bona fide meal period. A shorter period may be long enough under special conditions. The employee is not relieved if he is required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, while eating.
This lawsuit provides an example of how employers can underpay employees in violation of the FLSA by not fully paying employees all overtime wages earned for all overtime work that they perform. This unpaid time often results in unpaid overtime that adds up to considerable amounts over the course of an employee’s employment. The FLSA sets forth the minimum compensation employees must be paid, and non-exempt hourly employees are entitled to receive full and proper compensation under the FLSA, including overtime.
The lawsuit seeks unpaid overtime wages since April 1, 2018, liquidated damages in an amount equal to the unpaid overtime, attorneys’ 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 Fortin v. Majestic Care Staff LLC, et al., Case No. 2:21-CV-1467.
Additional information about the collective and class action against Majestic Care and Wise may be found by contacting our office by calling 614-949-1181 or emailing mcoffman@mcoffmanlegal.com. If you have any questions about whether you are being properly paid all overtime wages earned for all of the compensable hours you work (including overtime), then contact our office today to speak with our Overtime Lawyers regarding any wage and hour issues. Oftentimes, employers who require a meal break deduction do not ensure that employees receive a fully uninterrupted meal break as required under the law.
