Health Care Employer Pays Dearly for Systemic Violations
A Houston-based hospital system recently agreed to pay more the $4 million for various FLSA violations that affected more than 4,500 employees.
The DOL's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) stated that the agreement with Harris County Hospital District included payment of liquidated damages, payable when an employer's violations are willful. Because of errors in its time and attendance system, the employer failed to properly calculate overtime rates of pay. In addition, its recordkeeping system was faulty. These blunders affected a wide range of employees: nurses, lab technicians, respiratory care practitioners, X-ray technicians, medical technologists, registered pharmacy technicians, eligibility auditors and security officers.
“The investigation by the department revealed systemic wage violations throughout Harris Health System's 46 locations,” said Cynthia Watson, WHD Southwest. “We are pleased that thousands of hard- working employees will finally be paid their rightful overtime premiums and that this employer has agreed to take steps to prevent such violations from occurring in the future.”
Many employers can learn from this outcome. Insufficient recordkeeping is a common cause for FLSA violations. Harris County Hospital District no double had a time and attendance system already in place; it simply did not work optimally. Employee time tracking is a critical piece of an accurate payroll program. If your attendance system is not 100 percent accurate, you might consider Infinisource's TimeForce system. It will help you fulfill your recordkeeping duties, even overtime tracking. Click here to view a demo or request a quote.
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