NEW YORK, May 10 A nationwide class action lawsuit was filed today against one the country's largest home health care service providers. Filed by Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the lawsuit asserts that Gentiva Health Services, Inc. ("Gentiva") violates the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
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The lawsuit, entitled, Rindfleisch, et al. v. Gentiva Health Services, Inc. (CV10-2011), asserts that Gentiva, which employs some 30,000 health care workers, treats visiting nurses and other health care providers as exempt from the overtime requirements of the FLSA and refuses to pay these employees for all hours worked. Gentiva pays nurses and other health care providers on a "per visit" basis for some work, an hourly rate for other work, and fails to pay anything at all for other hours worked. Plaintiffs allege this hybrid compensation scheme does not meet the requirements of state or federal wage and hour law.
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Attorneys at Martin & Jones, PLLC and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC have petitioned the court to conditionally certify the lawsuit as a nationwide FLSA collective action and provide all similarly situated employees notice for an opportunity to join the lawsuit so that all current and former Gentiva registered nurses, therapists, and other health care providers who are not paid for all hours worked may be eligible to participate in this legal action.
"Gentiva's hybrid compensation scheme encourages employees to take on more patient visits and work longer hours, while Gentiva reaps the benefits by reducing labor costs and boosting profit margins," said Jill Hernandez, who worked for more than ten years as a Wage and Hour Investigator with the U. S. Department of Labor prior to joining Martin & Jones. Jill utilizes her experience to represent employees for violations under both federal and state wage and hour law.
Christine Webber, a partner at Cohen Milstein who has represented thousands of workers in wage and hour cases, noted, "The work these nurses do is so important -- they are caring for parents and grandparents, enabling them to stay in their own homes; they are dedicated to their patients. We are equally dedicated to ensuring that these health care providers are paid for all the hours they work."
Martin & Jones, PLLC has offices in North Carolina, where the first two class representatives live, as well as in Georgia, and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC has offices in Washington, DC and New York.
Contact: Jill Hernandez ([email protected]) 919.821.0005 www.MartinandJones.com Christine Webber ([email protected]) 202.408.4600 www.cohenmilstein.com
SOURCE Martin & Jones, PLLC
