Swope Health Services hit with class action lawsuit for failure to pay overtime to employees

The Paulus Law Firm has filed a class and collective lawsuit against Swope Community Enterprises and Swope Health Services on behalf current and former community support specialists. The class action lawsuit pending in the Western District of Missouri alleges that   Swope Community Enterprises and Swope Health Services misclassified community support specialists and clinical social workers as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and failed to pay these workers overtime as required by law.

The former and current employees claim that they were required to work approximately sixty to eighty hours a week without just compensation. The FLSA requires each covered employer to compensate all employees for services performed and to compensate them at a rate of not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for work performed in excess of forty hours in a work week. If you’ve been forced to work off the clock or have been misclassified as exempt, call the Paulus Law Firm at 816-581-4040 to speak to an attorney.

A workers rights group protested Wednesday at the front of a New Haven pub that is says failed to pay a cook overtime even though he worked 72 hours a week. Click here for the full story and a video of the protest. http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2012/08/22/news/new_haven/doc5035524e95acb751414942.txt

Wal-Mart Pays $4.8 Million in Back Pay

An investigation by the Department of Labor has shown that Wal-Mart is misclassifying certain employees; consequently, violating federal overtime pay laws. As a result of this investigation, Wal-Mart has agreed to pay $4.8 million in back pay to thousands of employees. However,a much larger issue may be at hand. There are probably many more employees who qualify for back pay than those who are included in the settlement. Also, many employees included in this settlement may have not been compensated for all the back pay owed. If you feel that you may qualify for back pay from Walmart, please contact Paulus Law Firm at mail@pauluslawfirm.com.

Working off the Clock

Is your employer requireing you to work off the clock? We first saw this situation arising in cases where an employer required an employee to shower in and out from work and then put on a uniform of some sort prior to punching in to start their shift. This type of practice required the employee to be at the place of employment 30 minutes to an hour prior to starting their shift just so that they could start on time. In essence this caused the employee to work off the clock. The employee is entitled to recover twice the amount owed for these hours (many of which were overtime hours), and attorneys fees.

We are seeing a new type of case arise where call center employees are being forced to arrive at work before their shifts start to complete administrative functions. They are also forced or encouraged to complete other essential administrative tasks during lunches, breaks, and after their shift ends. If you think that you may be working off the clock please call the Paulus Law Firm at 816-581-4040 and visit our website at http://www.pauluslawfirm.com/