Know the Rules Regarding Overtime for NPs and PAs—or Face the Justice System

The United States Department of Labor has ordered a Mississippi urgent care operator to pay $147,622 in back wages to 16 nurse practitioners who were illegally deprived of overtime pay. The operator classified the NPs as independent contractors rather than employees and, as such, paid them a regular hourly rate—even when they worked more than 40 hours in a week, which is where they ran afoul of the law. The Department of Labor found that the operator also failed to keep accurate time and payroll records, which contributed to the NPs not getting correctly paid for all the hours they worked. It’s possible the operator didn’t have a clear understanding of the rules, of course. JUCM covered this confusing (and evolving) topic in an article called Do Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants Qualify for Overtime in the Urgent Care Setting? Read it in our archives and avoid the headaches, bad press, and expense of shorting the workers who provide care to your patients.