1,317 former and current employees of Saint Francis Health System claim, in a collective/class-action lawsuit, that the hospital knowingly and deliberately broke the law through unpaid overtime and illegal rounding policies.
Federal law allows an employer to round time to the nearest quarter hour.
This is how it works:
For example, if an employee clocks in at 6:38, the time would be rounded up to 6:45. The employee would not be paid for seven minutes of work. However, if the employee clocks in at 6:47, the time would be rounded down to 6:45. The employee would be paid for two extra minutes.
While law allows the practice, the Fair Labor Standards Act specifies that it must be done “neutrally,” says Oklahoma Department of Labor General Counsel Don Schooler. He did not wish to discuss this specific case, but spoke to 2 News about rounding practices.
“If you round it sometimes in favor of the employer and sometimes in favor over time, it is going to balance out,” School said on the general idea of rounding. However, if an employer is solely, consistently favoring the company, then rounding is not done “neutrally,” and that is illegal, said Schooler.
The lawsuit cites St. Francis policies as stating that employees may clock in up to seven minutes early (which disadvantages the employee) but that they are subject to discipline should they clock in eight minutes early (which would disadvantage St. Francis). The suit states that employees are subject to discipline should they clock in even one minute after the shift starts.
Read the lawsuit here.
Schooler says what amounts to nickel-and-diming employees is a reckless practice, and while rare, improper use is potentially criminal.
“I think it would take an instance where it was a systemic situation where an employer is consistently abusing, and knowingly abusing, their employees for a DA to get involved in that,” he said.
This is not the first claim of illegal pay practice against St. Francis in recent years. In 2022, hundreds of employees allege in a lawsuit that St. Francis illegally docked their lunch hour pay while still making them work through the lunch hour.
That case was dismissed in October of 2024 but details on why were unavailable.
Schooler suggests employees contact the Oklahoma Department of Labor if they believe they may be victims of improper pay practices.
A spokesperson for St. Francis says they cannot comment on the litigation but are contesting the claims.
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