Eighty-five current and former employees of a Patrick County hospital are suing for roughly $1 million, alleging the former owner of the rural health center stiffed them three or four weeks of pay when they were abruptly fired in October.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Patrick County Circuit Court, also alleges the previous operator of R.J. Reynolds Patrick County Memorial Hospital withdrew funds from paychecks to cover health benefits and taxes but never sent the money to the appropriate agencies.
Some employees eventually returned to work but claim in the lawsuit that they still haven't been paid for the work they did before the Oct. 29 mass firing.
The hospital until recently was run by PCH Operations LLC, of Hickory, N.C. The hospital has been in financial trouble for years, and a court is currently trying to straighten out matters between PCH and secured creditors Wachovia Bank and the Marshall Investment Corp.
Roanoke lawyer John Fishwick Jr., who filed suit against PCH on behalf of the 85 current and former employees, said the goal of the legal action is to make sure the employees have a place in line in front of PCH's creditors.
PCH's assets have been turned over to the court and currently total about $225,000.
Representatives of PCH could not be reached for comment.
Contact Rex Bowman at (540) 344-3612 or rbowman@timesdispatch.com.
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