The operator of a series of nursing homes agreed to pay $9.5 million to caregivers across four states in order to settle claims that the senior living operator repeatedly violated state and federal wage and hour laws. A district court in the Eastern District of California issued an order granting preliminary approval of the settlement reached by the parties after engaging in private mediation.

In 2019, a group of current and former nursing home employees filed a labor law complaint against Frontier Management LLC, Frontier Senior Living LLC, and GH Senior Living LLC (Frontier). Frontier is a major provider of assisted-living services, managing senior living communities at more than 130 locations across 19 states. Frontier’s operations include independent living, assisted living, and memory care services.

According to the plaintiffs, Frontier’s actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as well as state wage and hour laws. The proposed classes included all nonexempt current and former Frontier employees in California, Oregon, Washington, and Illinois over the last 5-7 years. The specific time periods vary by state class.

According to the complaint, the defendants engaged in a pattern and practice of violating state and federal wage and hour laws. Specifically, the defendants refused to pay proper minimum wage and overtime wages for “work performed off-the-clock on a daily basis”; failed to allow employees to take rest breaks and meal breaks, while also refusing to compensate employees appropriately for meal break and rest break penalties; failed to reimburse employees for “necessarily-incurred expenses”; and failed to issue accurate, itemized wage statements.

After discovery and further progression of the case, the parties engaged in three sessions of private mediation. The parties ultimately reached a settlement to the tune of $9.5 million, including average awards of $1,474 per California class member, $884 per Oregon and Washington class member, $589 per Illinois class member, and $151 per collective class member. They submitted the proposed settlement to the California federal court for approval.

The court issued an order conditionally certifying the proposed classes for the purposes of settlement and preliminarily approving the settlement, finding the settlement amount “fair and reasonable” and appropriate in light of the risks and costs of litigation. A final settlement approval hearing is scheduled for March 1, 2023.

The class action settlement follows an outcry from medical caregivers around the country regarding their treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, 700 nursing home support staff, nurses, and aides at 14 long-term care facilities across Pennsylvania are currently in the second week of a strike. The strike is based on poverty-level wages, limited healthcare plans, unsafe building conditions, thin staffing ratios, and other grievances. Nursing home employees expressed anger at being “paid zero and are treated like zeroes” despite being called “heroes” and “essential” throughout the pandemic.

The Frontier settlement may cause nursing home operators to think twice about how they treat their employees, especially in light of their service during a pandemic.