The California Nurses Association will be holding a press conference
on Wednesday, January 11th, from 11:00am-11:30am to discuss a recent
lawsuit victory for the Registered Nurses at St. Joseph’s Hospital of
Orange, stemming from St. Joseph’s Hospital of Orange attempts to
circumvent paying RNs the overtime wages they were lawfully entitled
to. Awards to the 2,717 plaintiffs have begun to be mailed in January
2012. The lawsuit covers the time period of approx. December 2001
through June 2009.

What:St. Joseph’s Hospital of Orange RNs, Orange, CA, win major
lawsuit to recoup lost OT wages
Who: Joseph Antonelli, Esquire, will discuss the OT subterfuge case of
St. Joseph Hospital of Orange and the recovery of $12M dollars in lost
overtime wages
Mary “Vangee” Oberschlake, RN, St. Joseph’s Hospital of Orange,
Plaintiff, will speak to exactly why St. Joseph’s RNs brought this
issue forward & what she plans to do with a portion of the award.
Where: At the intersection of W. Stewart Dr. and Bush St., adjacent to
St. Joseph’s Hospital of Orange
When: Wednesday, January 11th, 11:00am-11:30am

In 2000, shortly after a new overtime law went into effect
guaranteeing time-and-a-half wages for all time worked after 8 hours
in a workday, the California Hospital Association (the lobbying arm of
the hospital industry) urged all hospitals to lower their base pay by
15% to “offset” the new law. By enacting a 15% PAY CUT, hospitals
participating in this scheme attempted to circumvent the law by making
employees foot the bill for their own overtime pay—and in turn,
hospitals could claim they were compliant with the new law.

St. Joseph’s Hospital of Orange participated in such a practice and
recently paid $12 million dollars in a class action lawsuit for doing
so.

“It’s sad that this issue had to come to this, but we’re pleased with
the outcome,” said Lilia Benitez, RN who formerly worked in the
Intensive Care unit of the hospital “As nurses, we’re always willing
to go the extra mile for our patients. Sometimes this means we need to
work overtime to do so. We only asked that we be compensated for our
overtime as the law requires.”