Cerner facing class action lawsuit regarding overtime pay
Cerner could be facing a class action lawsuit over lack of overtime pay, according to multiple reports coming out of Kansas, City, Mo., the health IT vendor's home base.
Two former Cerner employees filed suit alleging Cerner miscalculated overtime pay for potentially thousands of workers, according to The Kansas City Star. Cerner employs nearly 17,000 people.
Cerner employees consistently worked more than 40 hours per week, but were not compensated with overtime pay as mandated under state and federal law, according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs are seeking to certify orders classifying the lack of overtime payment as willful, and unpaid back wages and damages for the affected employees, according to the report.
Cerner has taken action regarding this issue in the past, forcing employees in 2015 to choose between giving up the right to sue the company or merit-based pay raises. Employees who gave up the right to sue have legal complaints handled through internal arbitration.
This agreement will not affect this case because the lawsuit was filed before employees signed and agreed to give up the right to sue, according to a KCUR 89.3 report.
A similar overtime lawsuit against Cerner was initiated in 2007 but the case did not move forward as a class action lawsuit.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.