Strong federal and state laws exist to ensure you are not cheated out of the wages you earn. You are entitled to a minimum wage of at least $7.25 per hour under federal law, or the minimum provided by your state if it is higher. Employers cannot deny you overtime of one and a half times your hourly wage by telling you it’s your fault you must work extra because you should have been able to complete your tasks during your 40 hours. Sometimes, employers get creative by imploring you to handle a few issues during your meal break or by coming in early and refraining from clocking in until your assigned time. These efforts are wage theft, and you do not need to stand for it.
We can help you without alerting your employer until your claim is established. Then, we can make your employer pay you what you are owed.
The Frontier Senior Living Case
In a four-state settlement granted in 2022, employees who, in 2019, filed a class action lawsuit were granted a $9.5 million settlement after a district court judge preliminarily approved it.
The employer was accused of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and various state wage and hour laws by requiring employees to work off the clock. These duties included completing paperwork and helping other employees to move residents while waiting for the relief caregivers to clock in. Much of the wage theft occurred during the pandemic.
Frontier maintains home offices in Dallas, Texas, and Portland, Oregon, and manages senior living facilities, including assisted living and memory care units, at more than 130 locations in 19 states.
The Judge Decides
Some 20,662 nursing home workers employed by Frontier at various times between 2014 and 2022 in California, Oregon, Illinois, and Washington were granted settlement amounts by Senior U.S. District Judge John Mendez, who issued final approval with his order of settlement on March 1, 2023.
The nursing home workers received an average award of:
- $1,474 in California
- $884 in Oregon and Washington
- $589 in Illinois
- $151 collectively as members of the affected group
What This Settlement Means to You
Whether you are a healthcare worker or are employed in any sector of the economy, you are entitled to be paid what you agreed to when you were hired and what is legal under federal and state laws. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous employers engage in wage theft because all they care about is maximizing profit and believe they won’t get caught because employees don’t know their rights and/or will not speak out. The employees at Frontier are an example to other healthcare workers that are not exempt from overtime – you do not have to take this financial abuse. Healthcare workers who are not exempt executives, administrators, or professionals are entitled to overtime pay of one-and-a-half times their hourly rate if their total weekly hours worked exceed 40.
If you are being shorted overtime wages, let us help fix the problem and get you the money you earned and possibly double damages and attorneys’ fees. You may never know if you are owed money until you complete our online form or use our online chat function for a free and confidential case review. Get started now.
