Barton Associates Faces Allegations of Misclassified Healthcare Workers as Independent Contractors

In a recent class-action lawsuit, Barton Associates faces allegations of depriving workers of overtime wages by misclassification as independent contractors.

The Case: Baxley v. Barton Associates, Inc.

The Court: California Central District Court

The Case No.: 2:22-CV-01011

The Plaintiff: Baxley v. Barton Associates, Inc.

The plaintiff in the case, Baxley, is a licensed nurse practitioner. Baxley claims “substantial overtime” was a regular occurrence while working for Barton in Pomona, California. While the plaintiff frequently put in more than eight hours a day and 40 hours in one week, she was allegedly not paid at the appropriate overtime pay rate for her overtime hours.

The Defendant: Baxley v. Barton Associates, Inc.

The defendant in the case, Barton Associates, Inc., is a healthcare staffing provider. The plaintiff claims the company did not provide healthcare workers with an off-duty meal break when they worked more than five hours or a second off-duty meal break when they worked more than 10 hours in one day. The company also failed to provide workers with their 10-minute rest period during a two- to four-hour shift, a second rest period during six- to eight-hour shifts and a third rest period during any shifts that lasted more than 10 hours. According to the lawsuit, the company also allegedly failed to properly pay healthcare workers for breaks they forfeited. According to the complaint, Barton willfully failed to timely provide wages due when employment ended (within 72 hours).

More About the Case: Baxley v. Barton Associates, Inc.

Barton Associates, Inc. is listed as the defendant in a recent proposed class action claiming they deprived their employees of overtime wages based on misclassification. According to the lawsuit, Barton has “knowingly, willfully and flagrantly” misclassified their healthcare workers as independent contractors so the company could avoid California labor law requirements to pay time and a half for overtime hours. Plaintiffs in the suit argue that properly classifying them as employees would entitle them to overtime rates for overtime hours, in addition to other employee protections like meal breaks and rest periods.

If you have questions about California employment law or if you need to file a wage and hour lawsuit, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices located in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.