Emergency service workers at a Sanford, N.C., health care center received $97,209 in back wages after an investigation revealed their employer cut time from their working hours.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined the Central Carolina Hospital EMS emergency department automatically cut employees’ meal breaks from their workdays through timekeeping software, according to a July 19 news release.
“Workers have a right to receive all the wages they earn,” Richard Blaylock, Wage and Hour Division district director in Raleigh, N.C., said, according to the release. “Employers need to ensure all recordkeeping tools that make automatic deductions for meals are accurate and that they can override the system and input accurate information when meal periods are missed.”
Many emergency service personnel were not released from their job obligations at times designated as "meals" by the employer, the release reported. The employees were entitled to overtime pay when this time — when combined to their other working hours — exceeded 40 hours in a workweek. LifePoint consequently neglected to pay these workers for additional overtime that was due to them.
Blaylock said employers need to ensure their automatic recordkeeping tools are accurate and that the systems can be overridden and accurate information can be added when meal periods are missed, according to the release. Companies that fail to do this could be forced to make costly wage repayments and find it difficult to recruit or retain workers.
