The lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, alleges the seven Dignity hospitals use timekeeping software that avoids paying nurses overtime.
Registered and licensed practical nurses at Dignity Health hospitals typically arrive 20-30 minutes before their shifts begin and stay 10-20 minutes after their shifts end for preparatory purposes, the lawsuit claims. However, nurses aren’t paid for this additional work because the timekeeping software allegedly rounds to the nearest hour.
“The result is RNs and LVNs are only paid for exactly 12 hours of work each shift (which is consistent with their paystubs), regardless of when they actually clock in or out,” the lawsuit states, according to the Sacramento Business Journal.
In an emailed statement to the Sacramento Business Journal, Dignity Health said it is reviewing the complaint and that it typically does not comment on pending litigation.
The following seven California hospitals are listed in the complaint: Woodland Memorial Hospital; Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento; Mercy Hospital of Folsom; Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael; Mercy Medical Center Redding; Methodist Hospital of Sacramento; and Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital in Grass Valley.
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