Illinois Department of Labor, Attorney General recoup $950,000 back pay for 3,000 employees of GrapeTree Medical Staffing

Springfield, IL – The state of Illinois has reached a settlement with a medical staffing company that charged its employees fees for missed shifts.

The Illinois Department of Labor and the state Attorney General’s office launched an investigation into GrapeTree Medical Staffing LLC, which provides health care professionals to work in long-term care and assisted living facilities in 12 states. Employees sign up for shifts through an online system to manage their own schedules, and GrapeTree charged them a fee when they did not show up for a shift or canceled a shift within 72 hours. Fees ranged from $50 to $200.

“Illinois law prohibits employers from disciplining employees by deducting their pay,” said Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

Raoul said any company doing business in Illinois must follow laws that require workers to be compensated for the hours they work without unauthorized pay deductions.

Illinois Department of Labor Director Jane Flanagan said the core mission of the Department of Labor is to ensure workers are paid the wages to which they’re entitled.

“Thanks to the hard work of employees within the Department of Labor and the Attorney General’s office, these workers will receive the wage that were wrongfully deducted from them,” Flanagan said.

GrapeTree agreed to pay approximately $950,000 in back wages, plus interest, to 3,000 current and former employees in Illinois. It also agreed to end the practice, as a violation of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act.

“I am committed to enforcing laws that protect Illinois workers and support law-abiding businesses, and my office will continue to collaborate with the Illinois Department of Labor to accomplish that goal,” Raoul said.

Anyone who wishes to file a complaint about employers’ practices can call the Workplace Rights Hotline at 844-740-5076; contact the Illinois Department of Labor at 312-793-2808 or visit either department’s website to file a complaint online.