Providence Health & Services Ordered to Pay $220 Million in Unpaid Wages to Hourly Employees
King County Judge Orders Providence Health & Services to Pay $220 Million in Unpaid Wages to Hourly Employees
In a landmark ruling, a King County judge has ordered Providence Health & Services to pay more than 33,000 hourly employees a total of over $200 million in unpaid wages. The ruling comes after evidence was presented that the hospital system had been willfully shortchanging its staff for years through illegal timekeeping and meal break practices.
The class-action complaint, initially filed in 2021 on behalf of Providence nurses, technicians, medical assistants, and other hourly employees, alleged that the hospital system had violated wage laws with its former “rounding” policy and meal break practices. After an eight-day trial, a Seattle jury reached a verdict on Thursday, leading to damages initially totaling about $98 million. However, due to the judge’s determination that Providence’s violations were willful, state law requires the total to be doubled, resulting in a final payout of about $220 million, including statutory interest.
Attorney Jason Rittereiser, who represented the hospital employees, described the verdict as “enormous” and emphasized that it sends a strong message to healthcare corporations nationwide. The complaint revealed that employees had worked over 234,000 unpaid hours over nearly five years.
Providence has expressed disagreement with the claims and stated its intention to appeal the ruling, citing complex wage and hour issues not addressed in Washington statutes. The hospital system maintained its commitment to providing competitive pay and benefits to its employees.
The complaint highlighted Providence’s use of a rounding policy that paid hourly employees based on time worked rounded to the nearest 15-minute increment, despite the availability of an electronic timekeeping system that could track hours worked down to the second. Additionally, the complaint alleged that Providence failed to provide adequate meal breaks to employees working more than 10-hour shifts, resulting in further underpayment.
The class includes all hourly Providence employees affected by these practices between September 2018 and May 2023, with individual awards varying based on the amount of unpaid work each employee should have been compensated for. Rittereiser emphasized the need for Providence to take accountability and address the wage violations.
As Providence prepares to appeal the ruling, the case serves as a significant reminder of the importance of fair compensation practices and the consequences of withholding wages from employees.