In a significant legal move, a collective and class action lawsuit has been filed against a prominent health services management company for alleged violations of federal wage laws. The complaint, brought by Julie Delk on June 3, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, accuses Automated Health Systems, Inc. of failing to properly compensate its non-exempt hourly employees.
The lawsuit centers around allegations that Automated Health Systems, Inc. systematically violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state common laws by not paying employees for all hours worked and statutory mandated overtime. Delk, who works as a Customer Service Representative (CSR) for the company from her home in Florida, claims that she and other similarly situated employees were subject to an unlawful time-rounding policy that deprived them of due wages. According to the complaint, "Defendant’s time-rounding policy and practice is used in such a manner that it results, over a period of time, in the failure to compensate their employees properly for all time worked."
The plaintiff asserts that the company's policies required employees to be ready at their desks before their shifts started but prohibited clocking in more than seven minutes early. This discrepancy led to unpaid pre-shift work activities such as booting up computers and checking emails. Furthermore, Delk's supervisor had sent an email encouraging employees to start work-related tasks up to 15 minutes before their shift began while maintaining strict policies against clocking in early or late. The complaint highlights this contradiction: "Indeed, on May 10, 2024, Plaintiff received an email from her supervisor... advising Plaintiff and dozens of other employees that they needed to improve their adherence scores."
Delk seeks various forms of relief from the court including unpaid wages, liquidated damages, injunctive relief to prevent future violations, declaratory relief affirming that her rights were violated under FLSA regulations, penalties for Automated Health Systems' actions, and coverage of attorneys’ fees and costs associated with bringing forth this lawsuit. The plaintiff also demands certification of this case as both a collective action under FLSA guidelines and a class action under Rule 23 for breach of contract or unjust enrichment claims.
Represented by attorneys Jonathan K. Cohn and Maureen Davidson-Welling from Stember Cohn & Davidson-Welling LLC based in Pittsburgh; Charles R. Ash IV from Ash Law PLLC; and Oscar Rodriguez from Hooper Hathaway PC—all working pro hac vice—Delk aims to hold Automated Health Systems accountable for what she describes as willful violations affecting potentially hundreds if not thousands of current or former employees across multiple states.