A federal judge certified class-action lawsuits against
Kaleida Health and
Catholic Health Systems, paving the way for potentially millions of dollars in judgements against Buffalo’s largest health care providers.
The suits, filed by Rochester-based
Thomas & Solomon LLP on behalf of thousands of current and former employees, allege that both health-care systems failed to pay workers for time they worked assisting patients during what was scheduled meal periods. The suit alleges this practice was repeated in multiple facilities and impacted thousands of nurses, aide’s and therapists.
Nelson Thomas, a partner in the firm, said because of the scope of who is eligible to participate in the suit, exact numbers won’t be known until current and former employees respond to notices being sent out, but he expects the number of plaintiff’s to reach “tens of thousands.”
Nelson said his firm specializes in these types of cases and recently won a $9 million settlement against Strong Hospital in Rochester for similar infractions.
“It’s a huge victory that is has been certified as a class (action suit),” Nelson said. “If it had not been certified and a lot of cases aren’t, then the problem is, everyone would have to file their own lawsuits.”
He said the suit was born from employees within both companies notifying his firm that these “wage theft” practices were occurring, prompting the lawsuit.
“What’s interesting, is ECMC is totally compliant and follows the law,” Nelson said of the other major health-care provider in Buffalo.
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