A proposed class action lawsuit alleging wage and hour violations against a medical staffing company also includes claims for failure to protect against the coronavirus.
Lange v. 24-Hour Medical Staffing Services LLC alleges the company failed to compensate nurses traveling to hospitals for all hours worked, overtime, and rest and meal breaks. The lawsuit, filed May 19 in Orange County Superior Court, states the company also failed to provide safety gear and did not follow safety protocols during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“The introduction of lawsuits relating to COVID-19 exposure is concerning for businesses in California and around the nation,” Julie Griffiths, regional director of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA), told the Northern California Record by email.
“Amid the confusion and misinformation surrounding the pandemic, filing lawsuits against essential businesses trying to navigate the changing information is predatory at best. Many businesses were either shut down or functioning at limited capacity even if they were considered essential and it will take many months if not years for them to recover. A lawsuit could likely be the end of many businesses in California and an end to those jobs they provide,” Griffiths said.
On top of restitution for the labor law complaints, the lawsuit asks the court for, “a preliminary and final injunction to protect workers and the community from transmission including but not limited to:
- Providing sufficient personal protective equipment, including clean masks, to all 24-hour employees/couriers;
- Creating and implementing a social distancing plan that will allow workers to remain six feet apart from customers and retailers with whom they must interact;
- Providing handwashing stations and hand sanitizer;
- Providing tissues;
- Creating and implementing a protocol to clean surfaces;
- Training employees on the use of hand sanitizers and on the safety, protocols listed above;
- Developing and implementing a plan to test workers showing symptoms and perform contact tracing for those that have been near who could have been exposed;
- Providing a date for sampling of inspections by Plaintiff’s workplace health and safety expert to determine what additional steps may be required.”
“We’re asking for them to correct what they have done in the past and implement policies to protect these people,” plaintiff’s counsel Kiley Grombacher of Bradley Grombacher LLP, told the Record.
The litigation will also be amended to include, “a claim for civil penalties under the Private Attorneys General (PAGA) Act based on the allegations already in the complaint,” Grombacher added.
An attorney with defense counsel Payne & Fears LLP declined to comment.
“I don’t know if there will be an increase in wage and hour suits, but tacking on COVID-19 liability will likely make those suits that are filed far more expensive,” Griffiths said.
“In California there has been bipartisan support for legislation to protect essential businesses from COVID-19 liability under certain circumstances,” Griffiths added. “We at CALA hope something meaningful moves forward through the legislature before the plaintiff attorneys do too much damage on California’s economy.”