US Department of Labor enters settlement with Care New England Health System to recover $1.9M for 853 healthcare workers denied overtime compensation.
Kent County Memorial Hospital, Care New England Health System paid $100K in penalties for willful violations during the pandemic.
HARTFORD, CT (STL.News) The US Department of Labor has reached an administrative settlement with Rhode Island’s second-largest hospital and Care New England Health System to recover a total of $1.9 million in back wages and liquidated damages for 853 healthcare workers who had to work through their breaks but were not appropriately paid for those hours worked during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hartford District Office of the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Kent County Memorial Hospital in Warwick automatically deducted 30-minute breaks from hours employees worked even though staffing needs kept them from taking those breaks. The division found employees in the emergency room and other departments worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but weren’t properly compensated when they worked through their breaks.
“The Wage and Hour Division is eager to return the $1.9 million in wages and liquidated damages we recovered to the workers who put their needs second and delivered essential care to the many people in Rhode Island who suffered during the pandemic,” said Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “An administrative resolution like this allows affected workers to collect their hard-earned wages promptly.”
Given the willful nature of the violations, the division recovered $100,000 in civil money penalties from the hospital and Care New England Health System. As part of the settlement, which spans from July 30, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2022, the hospital has agreed to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act. It has made substantial changes in its timekeeping practices to prevent future violations of federal recordkeeping requirements.
In fiscal year 2024, the Wage and Hour Division concluded 2,376 investigations in healthcare industries. These investigations recovered over $37 million in back wages for nearly 30,000 workers nationwide.
