Recently, unsolicited advertisements have been turning up in mail boxes of nurses in Tennessee and Georgia. These letters include the following statements:

“Currently, we are investigating claims against various healthcare employers for failing to pay compensation to their nursing staff employees for time spent working during lunch. It is our understanding that it is a prevalent industry practice to automatically deduct a nurse’s time allotted for lunch, regardless of whether the employee is actually relieved from his or her job duties. Such practice may violate federal wage payment laws.”

While such solicitations may rightfully be the source of more lawyer-bashing, they should nonetheless be taken seriously. As you know, wage and hour compliance can be complicated and honest mistakes can still be costly.