Resurrection Health Care Faces Prosecution over Back Pay of $381,000

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/04/24/resurrection-health-care-faces-prosecution-over-back-pay/

by James Parks, Apr 24, 2008

After four years of stalling, delays and appeals, Resurrection Health Care system may finally have to pay back wages to 64 employees. This week, the Illinois Department of Labor forwarded the employees’ wage complaint to the state’s attorney general for prosecution. The Labor Department previously ruled that Resurrection owes $381,000 in back wages to the employees, who work in the Home Health Services division.

The workers filed complaints with the state Labor Department in 2003 charging the chain’s “fee-for-visit” system consistently failed to pay them for hours worked beyond their normal schedule. Resurrection Health Care is the second-largest health care system in the Chicago metropolitan area and the largest Catholic health care system in Illinois.

The state cited Resurrection for violations of the state’s wage and hour law regarding overtime pay. But the chain refused to adjust the employees’ pay and instead spent nearly four years filing appeals. Now that all the appeals are exhausted, Resurrection still refuses to comply with the state Labor Department’s ruling.

Says Harald Anonsen, a Home Health Services physical therapist:

This is a great victory for us and our patients. This decision makes it clear that Resurrection had a payment system in place that consistently did not compensate us for the work we performed.

For four years, some 10,000 workers at Resurrection hospitals have been fighting to win a voice at work with AFSCME Council 31 in the face of intense management opposition. Resurrection management has threatened, harassed and intimidated employees, according to Council 31. Since 2003, Resurrection has settled 15 unfair labor practice charges alleging interrogation, harassment, interference in organizing activities and the prohibition of the distribution of union literature.

Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, says Resurrection’s stalling tactics show the “lengths they are willing to go to avoid paying these employees what the law requires.”

It is appalling that the company consistently broke the law and failed to pay these workers what was owed to them. Hopefully Resurrection now will decide to comply with the law.