Class action suit asks UIHC to pay penalty for delaying pay
Hunter
08/31/21
A Class action suit covering about 11,000 current and former workers at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is asking a federal judge to end further proceedings and issue a summary judgement in their favor.
The Gazette reports that the suit stems from a period starting in 2017 when the state stripped collective bargaining rights from public employee unions, and UIHC changed some pay practices as a result.
Pay periods there start and end of the first and last days of a month, and the Hospitals and Clinics have delayed pay for extra shifts, overtime, earned vacation time and sick leave. The suit states that UIHC violated the law by failing to pay all wages in a timely manner.
Although the UIHC eventually paid the delayed compensation and changed their pay practices last year, attorney Nate Willems filed a request to force the State Board of Regents to also pay those affected workers “liquidated damages.” Willems says state law clearly states that liquidated damages accrue for each day the wages are paid late, up to the amount of the unpaid wage.
The Gazette says that if the judge grants the request, it would essentially double UIHC’s cost of the delayed wages as a penalty. UIHC officials said Monday they don’t comment on pending litigation.