An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division into Perry County Hospital, in Tell City, to recover $60,254 in overtime back wages for 107 nurses recently concluded. The DOL report determined the hospital violated regulations established by the Fair Labor Standards Act when they deducted 30-minute meal breaks during 6-hour shifts without verifying if the employees used the break, failed to include incentive pay when calculating hourly rates of pay for overtime purposes, and incorrectly recorded hours worked during a pay period, which effectively denied some employees overtime pay for work weeks longer than 40 hours.
Acting Wage and Hour Division Director, Fernando Hernandez, expressed understanding of the reasons businesses choose to utilize automated time clocks, but criticized those systems with citation of the commonly occurring emergencies in a hospital setting that prevent employees from using breaks and the administration’s failure to confirm if the deducted breaks were used.
Information about the Wage and Hour Division, a search tool to assist those who think they may be owed back wages, and instructions for filing a claim online are available at www.dol.gov. Confidential compliance assistance for employees and employers is available by calling the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-487-9243.
