Maxim Healthcare Inc. Appears to be Facing Maximum Trouble

Columbia, MDA Maxim HealthCare Services employment class action lawsuit recently filed by a Cleveland, Ohio plaintiff is nothing new. In fact, the lawsuit is somewhat reminiscent of a lawsuit filed in the spring of 2011 by a plaintiff from Illinois.

In that action, plaintiff Julian Betancourt alleged that his former employer incorrectly classified staffing recruiters employed by Maxim's Staffing Solutions division, as exempt from overtime pay. The lawsuit, certified as a class action on April 21st of last year, alleged the misclassification was in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Betancourt, who worked for Maxim at Des Plaines, Illinois and Bingham Farms, Michigan from November 2007 through October 2009, was originally hired as a staffing recruiter and subsequently promoted to senior staffing recruiter around January 2009.

In his Maxim Healthcare Services overtime class action lawsuit, Betancourt claimed that he and various other opt-in plaintiffs regularly worked in excess of 40 hours per week, but were not paid overtime. While they were paid a regular salary, the plaintiffs claimed in their lawsuit that "he or she did not have the discretion, ability or judgment as part of his or her job to make decisions concerning hiring, firing, job performance, discipline or specific job duties, nor did they have the authority to negotiate the terms of placement or the fees that would be paid to defendant for the recruiting functions they undertook."

It is generally held that salaried positions in the management realm are, in most cases, exempt from overtime. However, Betancourt and his fellow opt-in plaintiffs maintained their jobs did not involve any functions which could be interpreted as functions of management.

In the case of Jasmine Lawrence, the plaintiff alleges she regularly worked in excess of 70 hours per week—and while she was employed as a Home Health Aid by the company, the plaintiff claims the majority of her tasks involved general housekeeping chores.

Maxim Healthcare Inc. is based in Maryland but operates hundreds of offices across the country specializing in, and dispensing home care services.

Aside from the Maxim HealthCare Services employment class action lawsuit, the company is embroiled in a separate negligence lawsuit that includes UPMC, a Pittsburgh-based operator of hospitals and clinics following allegations that a former radiology technician placed by Maxim into UPMC-operated facilities infected various patients with hepatitis C from used syringes.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (10/24/12), the complaint was filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court October 23rd against UPMC and Maxim Healthcare Inc. with regard to the alleged actions of David Kwiatkowski, and the perceived negligence of those who employed him.