Putnam Ridge Wages Lawsuit: Were CNAs, Others Underpaid or Paid Late?

A lawsuit filed in New York alleges that Putnam Ridge’s pay practices with respect to hourly employees, including manual workers, may have violated state and federal labor laws.

Specifically, the class and collective action lawsuit claims the skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, which is located in Brewster, New York, has unlawfully failed to pay employees overtime for hours they work off the clock, including time spent working through meal periods. The lawsuit against Putnam Ridge also alleges the facility does not provide employees with proper spread-of-hours wages when their workday lasts longer than 10 hours, as required by state law.

The suit further contends that the nursing home has violated New York labor law by failing to pay manual workers—that is, employees who spend more than 25 percent of their workday performing physical tasks—on a weekly basis.

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are now looking to strengthen the litigation, which aims to recover any unpaid wages, plus damages provided under state and federal law, with the help of Putnam Ridge employees who may have been affected by the suspected violations.

What Is the Atlanticare Wages Lawsuit About?

The proposed class and collective action lawsuit was filed in May 2025 against Atlanticare Management, LLC, which does business as Putnam Ridge, by a woman who’s worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at the facility since February 2024.

According to the lawsuit, Putnam Ridge’s pay practices regarding overtime and off-the-clock work—specifically with respect to meal periods—have violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as well as state labor law.

Under federal law, a covered employee’s overtime rate is one-and-a-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 per week.

The FLSA states that bona fide meal periods of at least 30 minutes are unpaid and do not count as hours worked. Under the FLSA, an employee must be relieved of all job duties during a meal break, and if they are required to work through part or all of it, they must be compensated for the time worked.

The suit claims that Putnam Ridge automatically deducts 30-minute meal periods from employees’ hours even though staffing shortages often mean they are unable to take full breaks. The plaintiff says she and other employees, who regularly work between 40 and 48 hours per week, frequently work through meal periods in order to tend to residents’ needs. The woman alleges the facility does not pay them for this time despite knowing they are performing work off the clock.

In addition, Putnam Ridge is facing claims that it violated the New York Labor Law (NYLL) by paying manual workers on a biweekly basis. The NYLL requires that manual workers, or those who spend at least 25 percent of their time performing physical labor, must be paid within seven calendar days after the end of the week in which their wages were earned.

The Atlanticare lawsuit contends that the plaintiff and other manual workers who were not paid on a weekly basis are owed damages for late-paid wages.

The suit further alleges that the facility has failed to provide spread-of-hours compensation when hourly employees work split shifts or those lasting longer than 10 hours in a day, in violation of the NYLL.

How Could a Putnam Ridge Wage Lawsuit Help?

If successful, the lawsuit could force the nursing home to make changes to its alleged pay practices to bring them in line with labor law. The suit could also help provide affected employees with any unpaid wages, plus damages they may be entitled to under state and federal law.

What Atlanticare CNAs and Other Employees Can Do

It doesn’t cost anything to get in touch or learn more about what you can do in light of the Atlanticare wages lawsuit. It’s important to note that federal law bars employers from retaliating against employees for exercising their legal rights.

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