BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER AND CAREGROUP INC. SETTLE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR OVERTIME LAWSUIT

BOSTON, MA – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and other CareGroup Inc. affiliates have agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit against the hospital chain alleging that workers were not paid for working through lunch breaks or beyond their scheduled shifts.  The $8.5 million settlement, if given court approval, will cover as many as 9,000 current and former CareGroup employees.

 

“This settlement is a tremendous victory for workers at BIDMC and other CareGroup facilities.  Workers should always be compensated for work they perform – it is the most fundamental legal and moral responsibility employers have.  In this economy, this is a big win for these workers,” said Veronica Turner, Vice President of 1199SEIU, the state's largest union of healthcare workers. 

 

CareGroup, Inc. and its affiliates BIDMC, BID-Needham, Mt. Auburn Hospital, and New England Baptist Hospital will pay up to $8.5 million to settle the lawsuit.  The settlement will include payments to cover back wages for workers who claimed they were not paid overtime for working beyond their shift, or who worked through their lunch without pay.  As part of the settlement, CareGroup and its affiliates deny any wrongdoing or violation of federal or state law.

Settlement of the suit was disclosed as a footnote in CareGroup’s most recent quarterly financial disclosure, where it recorded an $8.5 million charge to account for the settlement.  Embattled BIDMC CEO Paul Levy was also named in the suit.

 

The suit, already joined by nearly 50 current and former employees, was brought by attorneys with the law firm of Thomas & Solomon based in Rochester, NY, which specializes in class action lawsuits for unpaid wages.  The lawsuit brought by Thomas & Solomon was conducted independently from efforts amongst hospital workers within the facility who are organizing to join 1199SEIU, the state’s largest healthcare union.  Employees from CareGroup facilities have requested that hospital executives sign onto a free and fair election procedure agreement prior to the scheduling of a union organizing vote by secret ballot.  The CareGroup hospitals’ executives have thus far refused that request from workers.