Eleven current and former workers at Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services have won wage-theft judgments in Cleveland Municipal Court after being unpaid for the final two weeks of last year.
However, even with those rulings, the workers will not receive immediate payment. Instead, they must still collect the money themselves.
What happened?
Magistrate Leslie Wolfe heard the cases in May as the employees sought unpaid wages and, in some instances, unpaid vacation or paid time off, Signal Cleveland reported. Judges Jeffrey D. Johnson or Bridget M. O'Brien later approved the judgments, and the court notified the unpaid employees by mail in July.
The court awards ran from about $1,400 to a little over $5,000. Signal Cleveland reported that NEON, a nonprofit health center network serving low-income and underserved communities, did not challenge the claims. The organization was also ordered to cover court costs, and the judgments accrue 7% annual interest from the dates they were issued.
Princess Cohen, a former NEON employee, wrote in a text message to Signal Cleveland, "I'm thankful the court ruled in my favor because it validated that what happened was wrong." However, Cohen also noted that she would "be much happier when the back pay I'm owed is finally in my hands."
In February, NEON CEO Willie Austin told officers with Cleveland's Fair Employment Wage Board that the overdue wages had just been paid, Signal Cleveland reported. The board later learned the employees still had not received that money.
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Why does it matter?
While it might not seem like much, missing just two weeks of pay can leave workers behind on essentials like rent, utilities, groceries, transportation, and child care. Especially with the cost of living rapidly increasing, losing income can have a devastating impact on individuals and families.
Despite the unpaid-wages cases coming to a resolution, NEON's legal and financial challenges appear far from over. NEON is also involved in a court battle with the lender All Pro Capital over millions of dollars in debt, the outcome of which could result in foreclosure on its properties.
What's being done?
The court victory showed that, while the system remains imperfect, employees do have recourse against employers that violate labor and wage laws.
However, as Andy Schumann, an organizer with the Northeast Ohio Worker Center, emphasized to Signal Cleveland, the court victories are only part of the process.
"It's not like those paychecks automatically show up in their bank accounts," Schumann said. "It actually only means that now they have the legal documentation that they need to actually collect those wages."
If NEON still does not pay, the workers may need to take further legal action, potentially including seeking liens on properties owned by the nonprofit.
Schumann summed up his frustration with the system in blunt terms: "Why should the workers have to fight so hard and organize themselves so effectively and diligently just to receive money for the work that they did over half a year ago?"
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