1 year ago
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FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz is investigating a colony betwixt Valley Children’s Hospital (VCH) and galore nurses.
The infirmary radical is successful the mediate of 2 unrelated lawsuits, some alleging unfair moving conditions.
VCH says the colony of 1 volition cancel the other, though.
Janz says helium is obligated to analyse immoderate lawsuit alleging wage theft.
“There are provisions successful the law, provisions that passed this year, that let metropolis attorneys specified arsenic myself, my bureau to prosecute oregon initiate civilian litigation against employers who person not afloat compensated their employees,” Janz said.
In Ferreria V. VCH, a caregiver is suing the infirmary for wage theft against nurses during mandatory on-call hours.
“For those on-call shifts, they're paid anyplace from $5 to $8 an hour,” lawyer Brian Whelan said.
That is good beneath minimum wage.
Ferreria’s suit could beryllium dropped due to the fact that of different abstracted case: Westfall V. VCH.
“They're antithetic claims and they beryllium to antithetic events,” Whelan said.
The Westfall lawsuit was filed successful 2022, and it focuses connected nurses who complained astir inadequate remainder and repast breaks during the pandemic.
The lawsuit was settled this twelvemonth for $400,000.
The colony would hitch retired each different wage theft claims, including Ferreria’s, which focuses connected the abstracted contented of nurses being paid little than minimum wage.
“It's perfectly an outrage that this is happening wherever there's wage theft and past an effort done this different unrelated lawsuit to fundamentally hitch retired each of these precise important claims,” Whelan said.
Valley Children’s Hospital sent a connection Tuesday, saying "although Valley Children's Hospital powerfully denies each allegations successful the Westfall lawsuit, we’ve agreed to a colony truthful we and our employees tin absorption connected providing high-quality healthcare to our patients and our community, alternatively than connected litigation."
The tribunal has preliminarily approved the settlement. A duplicate lawsuit, known arsenic the Ferreira matter, likewise is without merit. Its imaginable claims volition beryllium settled nether the “Westfall resolution. Valley Children’s looks guardant to putting these cases down us.”
Valley Children’s claims the Westfall colony is much than capable to screen thing that mightiness beryllium owed.
Ferreria says the infirmary owes her $27,000. However, the magnitude she got nether the Westfall colony was $54.58.
Whelan volition person a proceeding to entity to the colony connected Sept. 26.
He says if immoderate different VCH nurses privation to articulation their objection, they indispensable record by Sept. 30. He is consenting to assistance them bash so.
The last proceeding to find the validity of the colony is Nov. 18.
