Last week, Providence, a major health care provider, was ordered to pay damages amounting to over $200 million. These fines were in payment to more than 33,000 of its employees after a jury in Seattle ruled that the company systematically underpaid them, deliberately denying them breaks, and consistently rounding down their recorded work hours, as reported in MedCity News.
The class-action complaint was filed in 2021, representing various levels of Providence’s hourly employees ranging from nurses to technicians. Jason Rittereiser, an attorney representing the employees, commented that judgments of this magnitude against healthcare companies for unpaid wages are not common. He added this ruling sends a strong message to healthcare providers not only in Washington but across the US that employee pay violations will not go unchallenged.
The lawsuit mainly targeted a particular Providence policy, which rounded down the work hours of hourly employees to the nearest 15-minute increment. This policy, which was put aside last October, effectively penalized any employee who punched in slightly earlier or later than their scheduled timing. Moreover, it also discouraged employees from clocking out immediately before their shift’s conclusion or slightly after its end.
The rounding down of hours systematically took place, despite Providence possessing the digital capability to track the working hours of its employees to the second. This resulted in an unchecked imbalance where the working hours of the employees were continually rounded down with no possibility of a corrective rounding up.
An additional violation was also recorded. Providence reportedly failed to uphold a Washington state law, which mandates employers to provide two 30-minute unpaid meal breaks for shifts that extend 10.5 hours or longer. Yet, Providence often deducted these breaks from the paychecks of employees, even when they were not provided.
Rittereiser stated that these wage violations, while appearing minor at the individual level, had added up to millions of dollars over time due to their systematic nature. The trial’s outcome, he commented, speaks to the immense scale of these wage violations.
The damage to Providence employees due to unpaid wages approximately totaled $98 million. However, under Washington state law, employers who willfully withhold wages are required to pay double the damage amount, a conclusion reached by King County Superior Court Judge Averil Rothrock. With the addition of statutory interest, Providence might have to shell out an amount closer to $220 million, according to Rittereiser.
Providence, in a statement provided to MedCity News, expressed their disagreement with the plaintiff’s claims. The health system added that it values its employees and is committed to ensuring correct compensation for their work. They also indicated their plan to appeal this result, believing that the case presented new and complex wage and hour issues that do not find mention in Washington’s statutes or in its Courts of Appeal.