Hospice providers can face legal repercussions if they don’t strike the right balance in their payroll practices.
Miscalculated compensation or miscommunicated policies are among the most common reasons that hospices are facing legal concerns related to staff compensation, according to Russell Bruch, partner at Morgan Lewis. Bruch assists employers with legal wage and salary matters at the global law firm.
“Claims alleging off-the-clock work, failure to take required meal or rest breaks and failure to properly calculate the overtime rate of pay are some of the wage and hour issues that pose the greatest risk to companies in the hospice industry,” Bruch told Hospice News in an email. “Employees who were not paid correctly can bring their claims as a class or collective action on behalf of all similarly situated employees. Additionally, the U. S. Department of Labor can audit employers at random to ensure compliance.”
Hospices nationwide have implemented a variety of tactics to recruit and retain staff in a time of workforce shortages and high turnover.
To compete for scarce clinical resources, most hospices had to bump up wages and salaries, as well as offering sign-on and retention bonuses, among other compensation incentives.
Other benefit initiatives revolved around flexible scheduling and expanded paid time off policies.
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