Avera McKennen Hospital ordered to pay back wages

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SIOUX FALLS (AP) — The federal Labor Department has ordered Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center in Sioux Falls to pay more than $70,000 in back wages to nearly 500 current and former employees who the agency says were not correctly compensated for break time.

The federal investigators who looked into the matter for two years said the problems were systemic throughout Avera McKennan, the media reported. The company has until June 1 to make the payments. Avera McKennan also has agreed to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act in the future, provide training for its employees and managers, and change its timekeeping software.

Bill McLean, senior vice president of human resources at Avera McKennan, said the company has already tweaked its timekeeping system to ensure that employees are properly paid.

"We try very hard to not ever short anybody," he said.

The workers cited in the complaint make up less than half a percent of Avera's workforce, McLean said.

Cynthia Watson, regional administrator of the Labor Department's wage and hour division, said in a statement that health care workers are among the lowest paid in the country.

"Similar facilities should take notice and ensure that their policies are in compliance with federal law," she said.

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