🗞️ Wisconsin Healthcare Partnership Ordered to Pay $162K for Denying Case Managers Overtime
Federal court orders North Central Health Care to pay 68 case managers $162,486 in back wages and damages after DOL investigation found systematic off-the-clock work and refused overtime approval from 2021-2023.
A federal court has ordered North Central Health Care (NCHC), a multi-county behavioral and mental health partnership serving Marathon, Lincoln, and Langlade Counties in Wisconsin, to pay $162,486 to 68 case managers who were systematically denied overtime compensation. The consent judgment, entered December 4, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, follows a Department of Labor investigation that uncovered violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) spanning June 17, 2021, through June 16, 2023.
The investigation by the DOL's Wage and Hour Division revealed that NCHC case managers were working unrecorded overtime hours while management refused to approve overtime requests or answer phone calls from employees seeking approval. According to court documents, the employer created a policy requiring case managers to obtain approval for overtime work but then systematically denied or ignored these requests, resulting in employees working off the clock to meet their caseloads and productivity requirements.
The judgment requires NCHC to pay $81,243 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to the affected employees. Additionally, the employer is enjoined from future FLSA violations. The case highlights ongoing concerns about the misclassification of healthcare case managers as exempt from overtime requirements, despite legal precedent establishing that many case managers perform non-exempt duties and are entitled to time-and-a-half pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week.
North Central Health Care, formed in 1972 as Wisconsin's first multi-county healthcare partnership, provides mental health, substance abuse treatment, developmental disability services, and skilled nursing care across central Wisconsin. The organization operates crisis centers, inpatient facilities, and community treatment programs throughout the tri-county region.
Key Points
- Payment Ordered: $162,486 total - $81,243 in back wages plus $81,243 in liquidated damages
- Affected Employees: 68 case managers in community treatment program
- Violation Period: June 17, 2021 - June 16, 2023
- FLSA Violations: Failure to record and pay for all hours worked, including overtime; inadequate recordkeeping
- Employer Practices: Required overtime approval but refused to answer calls or approve requests; ignored workload complaints
- Legal Action: Consent judgment entered December 4, 2025, in U.S. District Court for Western District of Wisconsin
- Enforcement: Employer enjoined from future Fair Labor Standards Act violations
Primary Source Author: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
Primary Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
Primary Source Link: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20260115
