Employees Accuse Florida Hospital of Violating FMLA, Overtime Laws

January 21, 2019

Employees have filed a class-action lawsuit against Baycare Health System Inc., a Florida hospital, citing alleged unpaid wages, retaliation and violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Florida Workers’ Compensation Act (FWCA).

A woman filed a complaint on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated on May 17, 2018, in the Pinellas Circuit Court against Baycare Health System Inc. alleging that it failed to compensate employees with proper wages and benefits.

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that the woman and other similarly situated individuals have suffered irreparable injury and monetary damages as a result of the defendant’s discriminatory practices of interfering with their rights to FMLA and to compensation at the statutory rate of one-and-a-half times their regular rate of pay for overtime hours worked.

The hospital allegedly failed to pay employees an overtime premium for all of the overtime hours that they worked, failed to accurately record, report, and/or preserve records of hours worked by its employees, and failed to offer employees FMLA or otherwise notify them of their rights under FMLA.

The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek judgment against defendant for compensation for lost wages, benefits and other remuneration, reinstatement to a prior position with back pay plus interest, pension rights and all benefits, front pay, liquidated damages, interest, costs, attorney’s fees, and further relief as the court may deem just.

Under FMLA, eligible employees may take up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave during any 12 month period, for any of four general reasons:

1. Birth and care of a newborn child
2. Adoption placement
3. Care for an immediate family member (spouse, parent, or child) with a serious health condition
4. Personal medical leave because the employee is unable to work due to a serious health condition

There are further stipulations outlined under FMLA. In order to be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must have been employed by the employer for at least 12 months and at least 1,250 hours during the twelve months immediately preceding the leave. Moreover, the employee must work at a site where there are at least fifty employees within seventy-five miles.

If you have questions about your rights under the FMLA, or if you feel that your employer has illegally deprived you of a right or benefit regarding FMLA leave, let our Florida FMLA Attorneys at Whittel & Melton help you. Call us today at 866-608-5529 or contact us online for a completely free consultation so that you can better understand your rights.