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MedStar Health Employees Failed to Compensate Nurses for Missed Meal Breaks

All workers deserve a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.  This is all the more true for healthcare workers, who serve an invaluable role in our society.

On April 16, 2014, Whitfield Bryson LLP and Kolman Ely, P.C., filed a collective and class action lawsuit on behalf of healthcare workers against MedStar and six of its component hospitals, alleging that the company failed to compensate nurses and other healthcare workers for missed meal breaks. Plaintiffs allege that MedStar uses an “automatic deduction system,” which means that thirty minutes of wages is automatically deducted from employees’ pay, regardless of whether the employee takes a meal break. In a fast-paced hospital setting, the Plaintiffs contend that they often worked through their meal breaks. The workers allege that Medstar does not provide a way for its hourly employees to receive compensation for missed meal breaks or discourages them from doing so. “As of today, the lawsuit covers 51 different departments in six different MedStar hospitals, and we are investigating all of MedStar’s hospitals for potential violations of state and federal law relating to this pay practice,” said Nicholas Migliaccio, a WB partner who represents the plaintiffs along with Gary E. Mason and Jason S. Rathod, and David Cohen of Kolman Ely. Mr. Rathod was quoted by the Southern Maryland News as saying that the allegations show “that MedStar may have been achieving dramatic cost savings on their part that they were not entitled to, and, that should be going to their workers.”

WB’s experienced wage and hour attorneys have brought cases against some of the nation’s largest employers including Kmart, Bob Evans, Office Depot, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Rite Aid, Pizza Hut, H&R Block, and Staples. If you’ve been unfairly denied pay, we can help you pursue a claim.