Overtime Lawsuit Investigation: Nurse Practitioners & PAs Underpaid?
Last Updated on August 20, 2026
At A Glance
- This Alert Affects:
- Nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs) and others who performed advanced patient care duties at certain hospitals.
- What’s Going On?
- A lawsuit has been filed claiming HCA Healthcare illegally misclassified NPs, PAs and other advanced practice providers as exempt from receiving overtime wages, and attorneys are now looking into whether other health systems could be doing the same thing. As part of their investigation, they need to speak with other workers who may be affected.
- Which Health Systems Are Under Investigation?
- HCA Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, Universal Health Services, Ardent Health Services, Hackensack Meridian Health, Memorial Health, Northside Hospital, CommonSpirit Health, Ascension, Baptist Health and Orlando Health.
- How Could an Overtime Lawsuit Help?
- A lawsuit could help affected nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other workers recover any unpaid wages they may be owed.
- What You Can Do
- If you worked as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant or in a similar position in the past three years for one of the health systems mentioned above and were paid on an hourly basis, fill out the form on this page to get in touch.
Attorneys working with ClassAction.org believe certain nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs) and other advanced practice providers could be owed unpaid overtime, and they’re looking into whether lawsuits can be filed on behalf of affected workers.
Specifically, the attorneys want to speak with advanced practice providers who were paid by the hour while working for one of the following health systems in the past three years:
- HCA Healthcare
- Tenet Healthcare Corporation
- Universal Health Services
- Ardent Health Services
- Hackensack Meridian Health
- Memorial Health
- Northside Hospital
- CommonSpirit Health
- Ascension
- Baptist Health
- Orlando Health
A lawsuit has already been filed against HCA Healthcare over unpaid overtime claims. Specifically, the HCA Healthcare overtime lawsuit claims the hospital operator violated federal labor law by failing to pay advanced practice providers time-and-a-half overtime wages for all hours worked over 40 per week. The case argues that because NPs, PAs and other advanced practice providers were paid on an hourly basis, they were not eligible for any exemptions to the overtime requirements established by federal labor law. Per the lawsuit, even certain employees who were told they would receive a base salary were essentially paid by the hour in practice.
The attorneys are now looking to strengthen the case against HCA Healthcare and determine whether lawsuits can be filed against other health systems on behalf of advanced practice providers.
So, if you worked as a nurse practitioner, physician assistant or other advanced practice provider for one of the health systems mentioned above in the past three years and believe you could be owed unpaid overtime, help the investigation by filling out the form on this page.
What Does the HCA Healthcare Overtime Lawsuit Claim, Exactly?
According to the HCA Healthcare lawsuit, the hospital operator classifies advanced practice providers, including nurse practitioners and physician assistants, as exempt employees who are not eligible for overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The FLSA generally requires that most employees in the United States be paid time-and-a-half overtime wages for all hours worked over 40 each week, but there are exemptions for certain types of employees, including professionals such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
In order to qualify for the professional exemption, the employer must meet certain requirements, including paying its workers a salary of at least $684 per week.
The HCA Healthcare lawsuit claims advanced practice providers were paid on an hourly basis and therefore did not qualify for the FLSA’s professional exemption or any other overtime exemption.
Further, the suit alleges that although some employees received a “base salary,” their paychecks still varied week to week according to the number of hours they worked and whether they earned additional pay such as holiday rates and shift differentials for working night shifts. In practice, the lawsuit says, these NPs and PAs were essentially paid by the hour and should have received time-and-a-half overtime for all hours worked over 40 each week.
The lawsuit also claims that HCA Healthcare must include employees’ shift differentials, holiday pay and other extra wages in its calculations of their regular rate, which is multiplied by 1.5 to determine their overtime rate.
How Could a Lawsuit Help Nurse Practitioners & PAs?
If successful, a lawsuit could help employees recover any unpaid wages they may be owed, including overtime.
What You Can Do
If you worked for one of the health systems mentioned on this page as a nurse practitioner, physician assistant or in a similar role in the last three years and put in more than 40 hours in at least one week, fill out the form on this page.
After you get in touch, an attorney or legal representative may reach out to you directly to ask you some questions and explain how you may be able to join the HCA Healthcare lawsuit or start a new lawsuit. It costs nothing to fill out the form or speak with someone, and you’re not obligated to take legal action if you decide you don’t want to.
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