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Hospital employees reimbursed for training
November 18, 2004 Labor Department officials meet with health care workers at the Brookhaven hospital. As a result of vigilance by their local union, health care professionals at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital have been paid more than $18,000 for time spent on mandatory training. Members of Brookhaven Memorial Federation of Nurses and Health Care Professionals filed a claim with the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, arguing that employees should have been compensated for taking Advanced Certified Life Support and other mandatory training. The Long Island hospital is required by the state Department of Health to have employees who work in the emergency room, intensive care unit, post-anesthesia and other specialty areas complete specific training. "It's a state requirement on the hospital in order to function as a hospital - and they tried to pass it on to individuals," said Ron Abrahall, president of the hospital local. The training was not part of any individual health care professional's licensing requirement. The Department of Labor has ordered the hospital to pay $18,777 in regular and overtime wages to 48 employees who received the training. Abrahall said he tried to reach an agreement with the administration before turning to the Labor Department. He invited officials from the DOL's Wage and Hour Division to a union session to discuss the Fair Labor Standards Act. "Our concern was that basically it gave the hospital carte blanche to add mandatory training as they saw fit and not compensate employees for their time," Abrahall said. He sent a questionnaire to more than 500 members, urging those who had completed the training to file a complaint. Working with New York State United Teachers lawyers and labor relations specialist Vincent Lyons, the local filed a claim. The hospital was cited for 96 violations for failure to pay employees at least their hourly wage and overtime for hours beyond 40 per week in order to complete the training. The department warned the hospital that future violations of the act would be subject to penalties. - Liza Frenette
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