Health care workers are often understaffed and overwhelmed, but they show up for their patients every day. The work is physically and emotionally demanding, with many days being nonstop. Yet, across the country, many nurses, technicians, caregivers, and medical assistants are being taken advantage of.
Wage theft in health care has become an increasingly common problem. Workers who already sacrifice sleep and time with their families to care for their patients are finding themselves underpaid for overtime and shorted on breaks or forced to work off the clock.
Wage theft can take many forms and cost a worker thousands of dollars a year, so it’s no small issue. In an industry that demands long shifts with unpredictable emergencies, health care workers are especially vulnerable.
Considering that chronic understaffing happens across the health care industry, it’s important to understand why health care workers face higher risks, what legal protections exist, and what to do if you think your employer has illegally withheld your wages.
What is Wage Theft in Health Care?
Wage theft occurs any time an employer fails to pay a worker what the law requires. While it’s a problem across many industries, the health care field does present unique challenges due to:
- Repeated overtime
- Long hours
- Mandatory training and charting
- Constant evolution of patient needs
- Missed breaks and extra work because of chronic understaffing
- Institutional schedules
In medical workplaces, wage theft is a common issue for many professionals. It can take form in many ways, especially in health care.
Unpaid Nurse Overtime
A lot of health care workers rely on overtime wages to support their families. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), most hourly workers must be paid time and a half for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Common violations of the FLSA are:
- Treating mandatory meetings, shift change reports or chart updates as “off the clock”
- Automatically clocking workers out after 12 hours, even if they stay late
- Failing to count pre-shift or post-shift tasks as paid time
While these do not apply exclusively to nurses, many of them are affected by these violations. In medical settings, off-the-clock work can look like finishing charts after clocking out or being required to arrive early to set up equipment.
Anytime a health care worker stays late to finish patient care assignments or responds to patients during meal breaks, wage theft can take place. Even one unpaid hour per shift adds up over weeks, or even months.
Auto-Deducted Breaks That Never Happen
Some hospitals use systems that automatically deduct 30-minute meal breaks, even when health care workers are too busy to take them. This typically happens with:
- Nurses
- ICU staff
- Certified nursing assistants
- Surgical or trauma teams
- Emergency department workers
During meals, health care workers might have to respond to an alarm or a coding patient. If you were interrupted or worked through your meal, the employer may still deduct the time without verifying whether you actually took the break.
Illegal Practices
Some timekeeping systems round time to the nearest 15 minutes. This can illegally reduce pay when workers consistently lose minutes, which adds up over the pay period. If a worker clocks in a few minutes early every day and the system rounds to the hour, those lost minutes may violate wage laws.
There’s also the practice of employers that misclassify workers as “exempt” to avoid paying overtime. This can directly affect the pay of many health care workers. The job duties dictate whether someone is exempt or not, not their job title.
Why Do Medical Workers Face Higher Rates of Wage Theft?
It’s no secret that hospitals are often understaffed, which can cause forced overtime with nurses and medical worker wage theft. Breaks can disappear and shift handoffs can run longer than expected.
Caregivers seek their role to take care of people out of the goodness of their hearts, but this can be used against them. Many health care workers feel guilty reporting missing wages to avoid looking uncommitted, while employers may consider unpaid work as “part of the job.”
The chaotic working environment of some hospitals makes it easier for wage theft to go unnoticed. Charting, training, safety modules, policy updates and patient reports are legally required for health care workers, but some employers expect staff to complete them on their own time.
This can create a culture of silence with health care workers fearing retaliation in the form of:
- Being written up
- Losing shifts
- Being labeled as a “problem employee”
- Being denied promotions
These can affect pay or future job opportunities, but the law protects workers who report wage violations. Reach out to a healthcare wage theft attorney if you are a victim of medical worker wage theft.
The Harm of Medical Worker Wage Theft
Wage theft in health care can affect many aspects of a worker’s life. Burnout is an epidemic for nurses and caregivers, who can work unpaid hours to care for patients out of the goodness of their hearts.
Financially, many health care workers rely on their paycheck for month-to-month living. Missing overtime or losing hours to automatic deductions can cause:
- Delayed bill payments
- Unstable housing
- Difficulty taking care of their children
- Damage to their credit
These factors can further contribute to the emotional toll that health care workers deal with every day. The feeling of being undervalued or exploited can make health care workers leave the field, which puts more strain on other workers and adds to the understaffing issues.
Signs You Might Need a Healthcare Wage Theft Attorney
Some health care workers may not realize they are experiencing wage theft or may feel uncomfortable reporting it. You may be a victim of wage theft if you notice any of the following:
- Your pay does not reflect the actual hours you worked
- You consistently work before clocking in or after clocking out
- Your time is rounded in ways that always benefit the employer
- Your lunch break is deducted even when you did not take it
- You are told to finish charting “on your own time”
- You are classified as salary or exempt without supervising duties
- Overtime is denied even when you work more than 40 hours
- You are discouraged from reporting missed breaks
If any of these sound familiar, your wage and employment rights may have been violated. Whether it is auto-deducting lunch breaks for nurses or unpaid charting after a shift, contact a healthcare wage theft attorney if you think your employer is committing wage theft.
What Legal Protections Do Health Care Workers Have?
There are several state and federal laws protecting workers in the medical field. One of the core protections is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which entitles nonexempt workers to:
- Pay for all hours worked, including pre- and post-shift duties
- Time-and-a-half pay for overtime
- Minimum wage
- Protection from retaliation for reporting violations
Texas is one of many states that have procedures for wage claims and employment laws that protect workers from being shorted by their employers. Employers are not allowed to waive overtime or wage and employment rights, even if you signed an employment contract or handbook.
What to Do if You Suspect Wage Theft
Each case is unique, whether you are a nurse with forced overtime or have experienced hospital meal break violations. However, if you think you have been underpaid or required to work off the clock, there are general steps everyone can take to help.
To help with your case for medical worker wage theft, make sure you record:
- Missed or uninterrupted breaks
- Pay stubs and schedules
- Dates and times you worked
- Any written instructions from supervisors
- Screenshots of discrepancies with the time clock
Do not delete any of these records. Preservation of texts and messages from management can help to establish a pattern. Once you have records to show wage theft, contact a healthcare wage theft attorney.
An attorney can help to determine whether your pay violations break federal law and understand what compensation you might be entitled to pursue. They can also evaluate whether others at your workplace may be affected.
Why Wage Theft in Health Care Matters to the Entire Medical System
Mass torts attorneys can evaluate situations where many employees are experiencing the same illegal pay practices. In these situations, workers may be able to pursue claims together.
Wage theft in health care is not just a labor issue, because it also affects patient care. When workers are exhausted or unpaid, it increases the risk of:
- Medical mistakes
- High turnover
- Declining quality of care
- Longer wait times
Protecting the wage and employment rights of health care workers can protect the patients they serve. Remember, you cannot legally be punished, written up, demoted or fired for asking about your wages or for speaking to an attorney.
The Carlson Law Firm Can Help with Medical Worker Wage Theft
Healthcare wage theft attorneys at The Carlson Law Firm represent workers who have been wrongfully denied wages. We have experience with numerous areas of the medical field, from CNAs and medical assistants to hospital staff and home health aides wage theft.
Our wage and hour attorneys handle claims involving:
- Automatic deductions for breaks
- Off-the-clock work
- Misclassification
- Unpaid overtime
- Time-rounding violations
In the healthcare industry, large-scale employer wage practices can affect many workers. The Carlson Law Firm is here to listen and investigate to help hold employers accountable. If you believe your employer has committed FLSA violations in healthcare, contact our healthcare wage theft attorney today.
Caregivers Deserve Better
Most health care workers get into the field because they genuinely care about their patients. The least they deserve is to be paid fairly, legally and on time. Medical worker wage theft is a violation of their rights and has a bigger effect than people may realize.
Medical workers deserve better, and our team at The Carlson Law Firm wants to help. If you or someone you know suspects wage theft, contacting legal help can be the first step toward meaningful change.
