Two home health care attendants on Tuesday launched a putative class action against Americare Certified Special Services Inc. in New York federal court, claiming the provider violated New York state labor laws by underpaying them for “sleep-in” shifts and failing to pay them overtime.  The suit seeks to establish a class of attendants who have worked the sleep-in shifts, where an attendant spends the night at a patient's home, since 2005. The class could potentially include thousands of employees, the suit says. In 2009 alone, Americare provided approximately 13 million home health aide hours, according to the suit.  Each prospective class member was underpaid by at least $70 per sleep-in shift, meaning the potential amount in controversy could exceed $5 million, according to the suit.  Under the Class Action Fairness Act, federal courts have jurisdiction over any class action when the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million and when there is minimal or incomplete diversity among the parties.

Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Americare provides home health care for sick, disabled and elderly patients throughout the New York City metropolitan area. The company pays home health care attendants approximately $9 per hour for regular 12-hour shifts and a flat rate of $16 for a full, 12-hour "sleep-in" shift, according to the suit.  Regular shifts can occur during the day or overnight, but if attendants worked at least a 24-hour shift at a patient's home, they are paid an hourly rate for their daytime shift and a flat rate for the "sleep-in" shift, according to Jason Rozger, an attorney for the plaintiffs. That drops the average wage below the minimum wage rate, the suit says. (click on link to read full story)