Lincare Salary and Overtime

Anyone ever ratted this company out for breaking so many laws about not paying for hours worked? Do they just pay you to shut up, is it worth getting an attorney or going to the media?

 

Lincares salaried workers arent paid overtime, and its completely legal. Lincares hourly workers ARE paid overtime. Not sure what laws you think are being broken?

 

Actually not paying overtime to salaried employees is not legal. It is a myth that people have believed for a long time. Several huge lawsuits have been won in the past couple of years with major pharmaceutical companies over overtime pay.

 

Didnt realize that it was not legal.

None the less... every company I have ever worked for has never paid OT to salaried employees. Off the top of my head I can name several major retail stores that never pay OT to salaried emps (Only using them as an example because several of my friends manage them).

 

agreed with above poster, it's a myth that salaried people are not eligible for overtime, pays to explore the laws or contact a employee labor attorney

 

I would check with your state labor department as I did for another job I was fighting over for some reimbursements and I asked about OT for salaried positions (as I was salary) and the lady told me that they do not need to pay salaried people OT for most situations. My situation was one where I was not entitled to OT, so the info above may be partially true. If you are in question just call your state and they will determine if you are in a position to receive OT.

 

I am currently a Lincare SR(service rep/Driver) and would like to say that Lincare is a corrupt and abusive employer, I currently(first hand knowledge)am aware of thier practice of overworking thier drivers and by doing so violate Federal Hr's worked laws for commercial drivers, upon discussing it with the compliance officer for our area, He stated that he is aware of such a violation and that it is widespread and He has brought up the violation of FMC laws to managemanet but each time it has fallen on deaf ears.

 

Well, what do you all think of being on-call without pay? I don't think that's legal. Tell me what you know about that?

 

I think it was Eli Lilly or one of the major pharmaceutical companies was sued for not paying overtime to representatives. It is illegal. There used to be an advertisement on cafepharma from an attorney for just that.

 

All states are different. It depends on where you live

 

In general, not paying O/T to salaried employees is only illegal if the company has misclassified the employee as a salaried employee when the employee should have been classified as hourly. There are certain state and federal laws that help determine what an emloyee status should be. A DME driver, definitley has to be hourly and paid O/T. If the driver was a beer or other "Distributor" of products, maybe not...Same way with customer service, though this is where some companies get therselves in trouble by calling their customer service by some fancy name like "sales associate" or care cordinators etc..It's not the name that determines their status, it is the type of work and how much time is spent daily doing that work. Managers and Sales reps will always be salaried unless they are actually doing a "majority" of other work such as customer service. There are more rules, but that is the short version.

 

Well Lincare has a couple of class action lawsuits and I think it's not only illegal to have salaried employee's work over 80hrs a week and drive their cars and only reimburse them 2k mile at Fla rate, when they are in many states and that isnt that half of it.. They do not reimburse you expenses or bonuses that you earn and they make you the on call person for every center, and its a 24hr business.. Also you cannot be out of the area, and have to answer the patients calls after two rings, whicb they advertise, so how should that be classified salary? you basically work 24hrs by phone and you work minimum 80 hrs physically? And I know personally they tell you, you only work a few hrs overtime a week, that's how they trick you.. This has been stated by many who have worked there.. Contact the two lawfirms that are suing them now... It's wrong, wrong and you should be compensated and you should at least get your expenses reimbursed...

 

Re: Lincare Salary and Overtime and non payment for on-call hours.

Does anyone know if it is illegal for them to make you take call other week for the entire week and not pay you to carry the pager and you only get paid when you get a call? In other words, they make us carry this pager all week without an hourly compensation and we only get paid if it goes off. Thus, having to give up our personal life and not being able to do anything with our family. Should I address an attorney on this subject? Where can I find the class action lawsuits that are against Lincare on-line?


Thanks.

 

It is my personal experience that OT is not paid to Salary employees, and for the most part, it is in your Hiring Packet that you sign that explains this.

As for all the "Drivers" on here, you knew when you signed up for the job that you would be taking call. You also knew how the pay for call worked. If you didn't know how it worked, thats something you should have figured out a head of time. Don't complain about taking call when you were the one that signed up for it. I took call for three years with a DME company, yes it sucked, however, I knew when I signed on what to expect. I am now in Sales, work just as much as I did as a driver and get no OT. Not complaining because I knew what I signed up for.

Just my thought.

 

Thanks so much for your "thought." However it is not just drivers that have to carry carry for a week or more without compensation. The RT does also. And because you took a job when you needed one does not mean that you should not be compensated for having to be in a stage of alertness while expecting the calls that may come in. It's the question I've always had. Seems like the basis for a "class-action" suit to me.

 

Re: Lincare Salary and Overtime and non payment for on-call hours.

Do you think they really give a crap anyway? They are just out for the almighty dollar. Don't waste your time waiting for them to pay you for sitting around "on call" because it ain't gonna happen. And speaking of sitting around...DON'T sit there tied to that damn pager! get out and enjoy time with your family. So what if it goes off take care of business and then go back and spend more time with your family!!! Life is too short don't waste a minute of it!!

 

Stop complaining. Like they said. If you don't like the deal that you youself agreed to before you started, then find another job. PPS is hiring and they pay $7.5o per day. Don't spend all of that in one place. So the grass is not greener on the otherside in the Homecare care business. At least with PPS, you know up front that you will not get any on call service because they are destroying themselfs and everyone knows this. It is the same complaints at most of the big companies where the dollar is first and the patient is last. Lincare, PPS and Roadtech. I worked them all and the leadership is real bad.

 

I was a center manager and now have a claim as part of a class action suit. They treated us like more than shit. The Area Manager in CA swore at us... screamed and yelled and we became Service Reps, Customer Service, behind our desk working all of the insurance claims and we were taken out of the field of sales... They did alot of illegal things including fixing a TEST so we would "fail" by one question then telling us not to discuss it with anyone or any of the sales people who also took the test.. That's a big cover up. If they want to get rid of you, they do find ways! They should be shut down.

 

You must have worked in Minnesota. The only thing worse than working for L.R. is watching her eat....which by the way, is a terrifying experience. At the very least, you'll lose your appetite. Lincare is a HORRIBLE company.

 

YOU ARE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE MONEY UNDER THE
PROPOSED SETTLEMENT
LINCARE INC. HAS AGREED TO THIS SETTLEMENT AND WILL NOT RETALIATE AGAINST ANYONE
WHO ACCEPTS THESE BENEFITS.
YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED: PLEASE READ IMMEDIATELY
Jose Gomez, et al. v. Lincare Inc.
Orange County Superior Court Case No. 05CC00109
TO: ALL PERSONS EMPLOYED BY LINCARE AS A SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (“SR”). The Court has
granted Preliminary Approval to a proposed Settlement of a class action lawsuit (“Action”) against LINCARE. It
is important that you read this Notice carefully. The Court has preliminarily certified the following employees as
a “class” and they are now part of the Settlement.
The PLAINTIFF CLASS consists of all current and/or former Service Representatives who were
residents of the State of California, and employed by LINCARE in the position of Service
Representative in California during the period from May 17, 2001, to February 25, 2011 and who
did not sign a release of claims relating to their employment with LINCARE.
A. DESCRIPTION OF THE LAWSUIT.
On May 16, 2005, former employees filed a Complaint against LINCARE alleging violations of California law
for overtime; timely payment of wages upon termination of employment; accurate itemized wage statements; and, that
these Labor Code violations constituted unfair business practices. In essence, and after a Ruling from the Court of Appeal
[See, Gomez v. Lincare, Inc (2009) 173 CAL. APP. 4TH 508], Plaintiffs seek compensation for on-call telephone time
where a patient visit was not required. LINCARE has denied each of the allegations. The Court has not ruled on the
merits of the claims or the defenses of LINCARE.
The attorneys for the employees
(“Class Counsel”) in this lawsuit are:
Mark A. Ozzello
Arias, Ozzello & Gignac
6701 Center Drive West, Suite 1400
Los Angeles, California 90045
Tel: (310) 670-1600
Fax: (310) 670-1231
The Settlement Administrator is:
Gomez v Lincare Settlement Administrator
c/o Desmond, Marcello & Amster
P.O. Box 451999
Los Angeles, California 90045
Toll Free: (877) 221-4912
The attorneys for Lincare are: