The attorney representing one current and one former employee of Columbia-based University opposes a request by the system to dismiss a lawsuit over time deductions for lunch breaks that the employees never took, according to KMIZ.
The lawsuit, filed by two respiratory therapists in 2016, alleges the system's time-keeping system automatically deducted 30 minutes for lunch breaks, even when the breaks were not taken. MUHC attempted to dismiss the suit, and a hearing is scheduled Dec. 19 to consider motions from both sides, another one of which aims to turn the lawsuit into a class action matter. A settlement conference is scheduled for Dec. 13.
"These practices by UMHC violated its written policies that a 30-minute meal break had to be uninterrupted in length for an employee to have 30 minutes of pay removed from their shift," the plaintiff's attorney said, according to KMIZ.
MUHC argues employees had an option to fill out an exemption log to avoid these automatic deductions. The policy was abolished in August 2016.