Provost Umphrey Appointed as Class Counsel in Second VA Overtime Class Action

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Federal Judge Elaine D. Kaplan of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Monday named Provost Umphrey Law Firm the interim class counsel for Paula Allen, et al. v. The United States of America, the second class action on behalf of nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for unpaid overtime.

The first lawsuit, Stephanie Mercier, et al., Plaintiffs v. The United States of America, settled for $160 million. The lawsuit, filed on December 28, 2012, alleged that 3,200 class members were induced to work overtime to update patients’ electronic health records and monitor and respond to patient-related notifications in the VA’s Computerized Patient Record System for which they were not paid.

The settlement, which is one of the largest ever reached in an overtime case involving federal employees, provided an average recovery of $50,000 to class members.

“It was made clear to us that even after the government paid the settlement, the VA was still taking advantage of their employees and inducing them to work overtime without compensation,” says Provost Umphrey attorney Mike Hamilton, lead counsel for the class action. “As long as these hardworking men and women are being exploited, we are going to be here to represent them.”

So far, over a thousand nurse practitioners and physician assistants have joined the second class action in hope of recovering their unpaid compensation. Many of the class members were previously members of the first class action.

“We are picking up a lot of new clients that were not involved with the first class action as well,” says Provost Umphrey attorney Guy Fisher, co-lead counsel. “Nurses and practitioners saw that their co-workers received compensation for their unpaid overtime from the first settlement, and they are seeking that same recourse. We are proud to hopefully provide them with another successful settlement.”

The case is Paula Allen, et al. v. The United States of America, Cause No. 1:22-cv-00400-EDK in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

If you or someone you know was induced to work overtime for the VA, you may qualify to be included in the class action. Visit https://www.provostumphrey.com… to learn more and complete the qualifying form.