Nurses, Physician Assistants Move Forward with High-Stakes Overtime Lawsuit
Posted over 9 years ago by Nicholas M Perrino
"Advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants and other health care professionals employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are one step closer to getting their day in court through a lawsuit claiming they have been required to work off the clock for years.
The lawsuit seeks overtime pay for eligible VA employees from 2006 to the present. The plaintiffs say the VA has required them to perform extensive patient-related work for no pay using their VA facility computers, home computers and/or VA-supplied laptop computers, which include instructions for logging in from home. Those who do not complete the extra work are subjected to additional scrutiny from VA management, including disciplinary measures such as being written up for poor time management, the lawsuit says.
Currently, the VA employs more than 80,000 nurses in more than 1,400 medical centers and outpatient clinics in all 50 states, making the VA the largest employer of nurses in the U.S. The number of VA health care workers who may be covered by the ongoing lawsuit is unknown, but...as many 7,000 could be eligible if the lawsuit is certified as a class action."