Facts

Gina Mangrubang was employed by Sutter Health in Sonoma County, California, as a non-exempt hourly respiratory therapist at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital. Sutter Health, Inc. was a California nonprofit public benefit corporation and healthcare system comprised of doctors, hospitals, and other health care professional providing services in more than 100 northern California cities. Mangrubang brought a putative wage and hour class action on behalf of herself and others similarly situated, alleging various Labor Code violations against Sutter. Mangrubang sought various equitable and injunctive relief, economic and statutory damages, prejudgment interest, and other appropriate relief against Sutter. The class included all current and former non-exempt hourly employees who were or are employed by Sutter in California as healthcare staff, including, but not limited to, respiratory therapists, phlebotomists, pharmacy technicians, ER technicians, imaging personnel, nursing assistants, physicians, and nurses, who have worked for Sutter at any time from July 9, 2015, through February 17, 2022.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff alleged that defendant: failed to proper pay wages owed, failed to pay overtime wages by forcing nurses to clock out following their shift hours, failed to provide proper meal and rest breaks, failed to maintain and provide accurate wage statements, retaliated against employees for complaining about its illegal conduct, prevented union representatives from entering common areas, and shuffled union meetings to different Sutter locations to make employees uncomfortable. Plaintiff maintained that defendant attempted to circumvent federal and state law by creating a systematic scheme of exploiting and intimidating employees to miss meal and rest breaks and to work without appropriate compensation, including by deliberately understaffing its respiratory therapy department by placing just two therapists and a student on duty for all patients. Plaintiff also alleged that defendant would reprimand and discipline respiratory therapists for taking the state-mandated breaks and that managers would alter their timecards to omit the missed break and meal periods. Additionally, plaintiff contended that defendant denied state-mandated overtime pay to laboratory personnel and failed to compensate operating room and sterilization technicians for shift differential pay. Finally, plaintiff argued that the amount of wages owed to plaintiff and the other members of the putative class were readily and objectively ascertainable and that defendant knew or should have known that its policies violated California law.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied all contentions.

Result

The case settled for $600,000 for the class of respiratory therapists.