A
Seattle
jury
has
decided
that
Providence
underpaid
more
than
33,000
of
its
employees
by
willfully
denying
them
breaks
and
rounding
down
their
time
on
the
clock.
The
class-action
complaint
was
filed
in
2021
on
behalf
of
Providence
nurses,
technicians
and
other
hourly
employees.
The
case’s
eight-day
trial
concluded
last
week,
with
a
county
judge
ordering
the
health
system
to
pay
more
than
$200
million.
“It’s
not
everyday
you
see
a
judgment
in
excess
of
$200
million
against
a
healthcare
company
for
unpaid
wages,”
Jason
Rittereiser,
an
attorney
who
represented
Providence’s
employees,
said
in
an
interview.
“I
think
that
sends
a
message
to
healthcare
corporations
—
not
just
in
Washington,
but
across
the
country
—
that
if
they
fail
to
pay
their
employees,
they
will
be
held
accountable.”
The
complaint
alleged
that
Providence
used
a
policy
—
which
was
discontinued
last
October
—
that
would
pay
hourly
employees
based
on
the
time
they
work
rounded
to
the
nearest
15-minute
increment.
The
health
system
also
had
policies
in
place
to
“discourage
hourly
employees
from
punching
in
more
than
seven
minutes
early
for
their
shift,
from
punching
in
after
the
scheduled
start
of
their
shift,
or
punching
out
more
than
seven
minutes
after
the
end
of
their
shift
or
shortly
before
the
end
of
their
shift,”
according
to
the
complaint.
Essentially,
these
policies
prevented
or
discouraged
workers
from
punching
the
clock
in
a
way
that
rounding
could
benefit
them
—
therefore
meaning
that
employees’
working
hours
were
consistently
getting
rounded
down
without
the
chance
of
ever
evening
out
—
the
complaint
explained.
This
policy
was
in
place
despite
the
fact
that
Providence,
like
many
employers,
was
using
a
digital
clock
to
track
its
employees’
working
hours
“down
to
the
second,”
Rittereiser
said.
The
complaint
also
alleged
that
Providence
systematically
failed
to
provide
a
second
meal
break
for
hourly
employees
who
were
entitled
to
one.
Per
Washington
state
law,
employers
are
required
to
ensure
staff
members
get
two
30-minute,
duty-free
meal
breaks
when
they
work
a
shift
that
is
10.5
hours
or
longer.
Providence
did
not
provide
these
second
meal
breaks
to
employees,
yet
the
health
system
automatically
deducted
these
breaks
that
workers
should
have
received
from
their
paychecks,
according
to
the
complaint.
“These
are
systemic
wage
violations
that
happened
on
a
small
scale
each
and
every
day
for
years.
Ultimately,
that
adds
up
to
be
millions
and
millions
of
dollars.
A
single
wage
violation
on
behalf
of
an
individual
employee
could
go
unnoticed
—
but
the
result
of
this
trial
speaks
to
the
massive,
systemic
size
of
these
wage
violations,”
Rittereiser
explained.
Damages
for
Providence
employees’
unpaid
wages
totaled
about
$98
million,
but
Providence
is
being
ordered
to
pay
much
more
than
that.
Under
Washington
state
law,
employers
must
pay
double
the
amount
of
damages
if
a
judge
determines
that
they
made
the
willful
choice
to
withhold
wages
—
and
King
County
Superior
Court
Judge
Averil
Rothrock
did
just
that.
With
statutory
interest,
Providence
will
have
to
pay
a
total
closer
to
$220
million,
Rittereiser
said.
In
a
statement
shared
with
MedCity
News,
a
Providence
spokesperson
wrote
that
the
health
system
values
its
employees
and
“remains
committed
to
providing
them
comprehensive,
competitive
pay
and
benefits,
and
to
making
sure
they
are
correctly
compensated
for
time
worked.”
The
spokesperson
also
wrote
that
Providence
disagrees
with
the
plaintiffs’
claims
that
some
Providence
hospitals
in
Washington
failed
to
provide
appropriate
compensation
to
workers.
“This
case
presented
several
new
and
complex
wage
and
hour
issues
that
are
not
addressed
in
Washington
statutes
or
by
the
Washington
Courts
of
Appeal.
Along
with
other
employers
also
seeking
clarity
on
these
Washington
wage
and
hour
issues,
we
intend
to
appeal
this
result,”
the
spokesperson’s
statement
read.
Photo:
zimmytws,
Getty
Images