Employer Will Pay $4M to Settle FLSA Automatic Meal Period Deduction Suit
May 30, 2019
The University Medical Center of Southern Nevada has agreed to pay $4,000,000 to settle a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) suit where employees alleged that the Medical Center violated the FLSA by automatically deducting a thirty-minute lunch break, every day, whether or not the employees allegedly worked through lunch. The Medical Center asserted that employees could override the automatic deductions by entering a cancellation code into the computer system that kept track of employee work hours, and that it did not know this was happening because employees never complained to HR or used the override system. While it is permissible to have an an automatic deduction policy, there must be some kind of reporting mechanism that employees have full knowledge of and use to report a supposedly missed lunch. SESCO has a long history of ensuring that employers are compliant with federal and state wage and hour requirements. If employers have any questions or concerns about their pay practices, we recommend they contact us to ensure compliance.
