Nurses at Valley Children’s Could Be Losing Tens of Thousands of Dollars in Unpaid Wages for Just $50. Here’s Why.

As the hospital faces a growing number of lawsuits from nurses, Valley Children’s Hospital is proposing to pay each of its health care workers about $50 to settle a class action lawsuit alleging labor law violations.

But some workers could lose out on tens of thousands of dollars in claims from the hospital over a dispute over unpaid wages if the settlement is ultimately approved.

The background story: Bonnie Ferreria, a nurse at Valley Children’s, filed a class action lawsuit against the hospital in Madera County Superior Court in June, seeking all of the minimum wage and overtime pay she is entitled to.

• The lawsuit alleges that Valley Children’s has historically paid between $6 and $8 an hour for on-call services, while the California minimum wage has been above $8 an hour for the past decade.
• According to the lawsuit, the affected employees are entitled to nearly $5 million in total.

Boosting the news: In late August, Ferreria received notice of a tentative settlement in another class action lawsuit filed against Valley Children’s. This settlement had previously gone unreported.

• That case – Briana Westfall and Gloria Garcia vs. Valley Children’s Hospital – was offered a settlement on June 18, just 11 days after Ferreria’s complaint was filed. Westval The lawsuit was initially filed in October 2022 and alleged that Valley Children’s failed to pay employees for overtime and failed to provide meal and rest breaks.

• Under the proposed settlement, Valley Children’s would pay $400,000 to settle all wage claims.

• The notice informed Ferreria that she would receive $54.58 as part of the deal.

• The settlement would also release the hospital from any claims from employees relating to their wages and employment.

• Ferreria is part of the nameless class in the Westval case.

The big picture: Last week, Ferreria filed a motion in the Westfall case asking the court to grant her leave to intervene, meaning she could file a complaint challenging the proposed settlement.

• Ferreria claims the proposed settlement is unfair and would involve issues, such as her on-call claims, that were not addressed during the Westval case.

• She estimates that the amount she is owed is at least $27,832 of her claim, more than 500 times what she would receive under the settlement Valley Children’s would offer her.

• While the settlement with Westfall does not specifically address claims related to “call” or “standby” issues, it does include a clause agreeing to “release them from all claims arising out of their employment with” the hospital.

• Ferreria’s attorney Brian Whelan argued in a statement filed with the court that the proposed settlement is broad and covers Ferreria’s on-call worker claims. This means she will not be allowed to continue her lawsuit and will only receive a little more than $50.

Go deeper: Additionally, Whelan argued that the hospital was trying to prevent him from reviewing the settlement before it could be approved by the court, thereby blocking Ferreria’s lawsuit.

• Whelan said he first heard of the Westval case in which Ferreria received notice of the settlement and was never told anything about Valley Children’s lawsuit, despite the fact that the settlement would affect his client’s lawsuit.

• Whelan also provided an email he sent to an attorney for Valley Children’s asking why the hospital had not informed him of the proposed settlement. The attorney is claiming legal privilege.

What we look at: The court is expected to hold a hearing on Ferreria’s request on September 26.