Health care workers are essential to our everyday society, and deserve to be treated as such. Medical workers are often subject to long hours only amplified by the heavy emotional impact of their work. And if that weren’t enough, unfortunately, they may be affected by wage theft as well.

One such form wage theft may take is unpaid overtime. That can present itself in several ways, from being misclassified as an exempt worker or independent contractor to not being paid for all the hours worked. 

While unpaid overtime is often cause for concern, health care workers in multiple fields — including lab technicians, elective surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurse practitioners, phlebotomists, and more — should also be aware of their contractual rights if their position is terminated or they experience a layoff. 

Many health care workers — whether they’re aware of it or not — have a provision in their contract that they must receive advance notice if they are laid off. This notice could be for as many as 30-60 days in advance. 

If a medical professional is laid off without notice or with fewer days’ notice than their contract stipulates, they may be owed back pay or other compensation for that time that should’ve elapsed between notice and termination. This could affect workers across the field, whether they work for a single office, large healthcare company, or hospital network. 

If you work in the medical field and believe you did not receive appropriate notice before a layoff, you may be owed compensation. Contact one of our attorneys for a free, confidential consultation to see how you can fight for the compensation you earned.