Working in a medical office can be dangerous. Between bio-hazardous materials, lifting patients, and being exposed to unusual illnesses some wonder why more workers compensation cases do not come out of doctors' offices. Medical offices can be dangerous workplaces. The Employment Lawyers Group handles a lot of cases in the medical industry. We have arbitrated and successfully won cases against statewide clinics and a national hospital. Many hospitals have invalid Alternative Work Week Schedules (AWS) in an attempt to avoid paying overtime. A lot of our practice involves representing hospital employees and nursing home employees. The fast-paced management of large-scale medical facilities has a lot to be desired.

Smaller medical offices often involve professionals who are the owners and managers of the place of employment. While these individuals may be talented dentists and doctors with top credentials, their knowledge of California labor law is often lacking. Many cases involving missed meal breaks, rest breaks, and a lack of overtime pay exists amongst the smaller medical facilities. Jobs are often wrongfully terminated when employees become pregnant, or have to go out on a medical leave. If sexual harassment occurs, it is often not remediated. Instead, it continues and the victim of sexual harassment must continue to work with the harasser.

CALL (818) 783-7300 TO START A CASE AGAINST A MEDICAL FACILITY

Initial attorney client communications are an interactive process. This is best done on the phone. Texts and emails are not efficient, nor full enough for the potential client to explain their situation.

WRONGFUL TERMINATION OF WHISTLE BLOWING HEALTHCARE WORKERS

Healthcare workers who complain of an illegal practice at their place of employment, and are fired should sue for wrongful termination. In addition to the regular statutes prohibiting whistle blower retaliation and job terminations, there may be an applicable presumption that the ending of a healthcare worker’s employment is due to their whistle blowing. When there is a presumption already in favor of the employee, it is the employer’s obligation to rebut the presumption.

The issues healthcare workers whistle blow about often involve patient safety, improper charting, and improper billing. Sometimes the charting and billing is actually fraudulent. There is an attempt to get money from an insurance company, or the government for services that were not performed. Healthcare whistleblowing may also involve the health and safety of employees who do not have proper PPE, are expected to engage in unsafe lifting practices, or are improperly exposed to biohazards or unsafe patients. Healthcare whistleblowing also occurs when patients are being neglected.

Nursing home whistleblowers often complain medications are not being properly dispensed, or patients are not being properly cared for. Patient care issues may involve patients laying in wet sheets, or being left if dirty clothes. Theft and abuse to patients is also an unfortunate topic of whistleblowing by employees working in a residential facility. Staffing ratios and patients in the wrong level of care are also issues that commonly come up.

New healthcare minimum wage laws are quite expansive, and even extend to janitors. Complaints about a failure to pay the minimum healthcare worker wage may also result in wrongful termination. 

The Employment Lawyers Group has handled and succeeded in the types of healthcare whistle blowing situations above, and many more. Call 818-783-7300 for a healthcare whistle blower lawyer with more than 30 years of experience in the area.

WAGE AND HOUR ISSUES FOR HOSPTIAL WORKERS

Hospital workers often have long shifts. They might be on what is called an, “Alternative Work Week Schedule” otherwise known as an AWS. Alternative Work Week schedules must be properly voted on. The results of the election must be reported to a particular labor agency in California. The California Wage Order (Wage Order 5) pertaining to nurses and other healthcare professionals only allows the legal findings of alternative work week agreements if all statutory conditions are met for the exception to overtime to apply.

Valid alternative work week schedules are for 10 or 12 hour days. The legal validity of the AWS comes into question when the employees do not regularly work the voted on 10 or 12 hour day. If it is a 12 hour schedule, employees are permitted to work 3 days a week. If it is a 10 hour schedule, healthcare workers are allowed to work 4 days a week. Employers will argue the employee voluntarily picked up additional shifts, or chose to go home early. It is our job to prove that is not true. The existence of regular on-call schedules also may defeat the validity of the alternative work week schedule.

We have tried a very long case for a great number of RNs who routinely worked more than 12 hour shifts, more than 3 days a week. This type of situation is an abuse of the AWS exceptions to overtime. If there is an alternative work week schedule, employees must be paid overtime if they are not provided 12 hours of work, and are asked to leave after the 8thhour of work. If this routinely occurs it is another reason why the AWS should be held invalid.

Very few law firms representing employees fight illegal pay cases due to alternative work week schedules. The Employment Lawyers Group has particular expertise after trying a very long case for a great number of nurses subject to an invalid alternative work week schedule.

CALL (818) 783-7300 TO START YOUR CASE AGAINST A HEALTHCARE EMPLOYER