Recent News

Our firm, Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison, PLLC has filed a lawsuit against Nashville’s Downtown Sporting Club – a restaurant and bar owned by Strategic Hospitality – for failing to pay its servers and bartenders in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. The complaint can be found here . The lawsuit alleges that Downtown Sporting Club’s servers and bartenders were required to share their tips with employees who did not earn those tips, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The lawsuit was filed as a collective action lawsuit on behalf of servers and bartenders who worked for the Downtown Sporting Club any time in the last three years. The lawsuit seeks unpaid wages, including overtime wages, and liquidated damages. If you have worked as a server or bartender for the Downtown Sporting Club in the last three years and were required to share your tips with fellow workers who did not earn those tips, you may be eligible to participate in this case to recover wages owed to you. You may call our office at 615-244-2202 to learn more about this case. All calls are free and confidential. To learn more about our Wage & Overtime practice, click here. Our firm is located in Nashville, Tennessee, but we represent workers all around the country.

According to the Department of Justice’s year-end report, the Department recovered more than $3 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud and false claims against the United States in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2019. As in prior years, the vast majority of these recovered funds are attributable to whistleblower lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the federal False Claims Act . Of the more than $3 billion recovered by the United States, approximately $2.1 billion is the result of qui tam lawsuits brought by whistleblowers. Whistleblower also filed 633 qui tam suits in fiscal year 2019 – an average of more than 12 new cases every week. Under the False Claims Act, successful whistleblowers are entitled to a share of any recovery by the United States, and in 2019, whistleblowers received a total of $265 million in relator share payments from the United States. The vast majority of the funds recovered involved fraud in the health care industry (e.g. Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare)—which includes drug and medical device manufacturers, hospitals, pharmacies, hospice organizations and physicians. To read the DOJ’s press release, click here. To learn more about our Whistleblower & Qui Tam practice click here . Our firm is located in Nashville, Tennessee but we represent whistleblowers all around the country. Call us today at (615) 244-2202.

As the scale of the coronavirus crisis has become clearer, companies in the U.S. have been taking dramatic steps that impact their workers. These companies have lawyers in their corner. Too often, workers—who are the most vulnerable during this crisis—do not. At Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison, we believe workers deserve the same level of guidance about their legal rights as the companies that employ them. Here are some of the rights you have during this difficult and uncertain time: Proper pay for all of the time you work Paid and unpaid leave related to coronavirus Reasonable work accommodations, including working from home, if you are at high risk for coronavirus exposure PAY FOR ALL OF THE TIME YOU SPEND WORKING During the coronavirus pandemic, many companies have not paid their employees properly. Some examples include: Laying off workers without paying their final paychecks: As some businesses close during the pandemic, they are failing to pay workers for the work they have already performed. If you have performed work, you are entitled to be paid for it. Requiring workers to work even longer hours without proper overtime pay: In many industries, workers have begun to work even longer hours than before. For example, healthcare workers, grocery store staff, warehouse pickers, and delivery drivers have worked long hours since the crisis begin. If you work more than 40 hours in a week, you must be paid time-and-a-half for the hours over 40. Making employees work from home, but not paying them for all work time: Other businesses have switched to work from home or remote work. If you are working from home, you are still entitled to be paid for all of the time you spend working each day. For example, just because you are at home, your employer cannot begin to dock your pay for your normal 10 or 15-minute paid breaks or for ordinary bathroom breaks. Whether you are at home or in the office, your employer has to pay you for all of your work time. If you believe you have not been paid properly, we are here to help 7 days a week. For a free and confidential consultation call us at (615) 744-9379 or email us at info@barrettjohnston.com. PAID AND UNPAID LEAVE Family and Medical Leave Act Continues to Provide Unpaid Leave: The Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) has always provided many workers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year when they suffer from a serious health condition or when they must care for family. For more information on FMLA rights, here is a helpful fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Labor. Families First Coronavirus Response Act Paid Sick Leave and Expanded FMLA Benefits: For many workers, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) expands the FMLA rights above and provides paid sick live. The FFCRA provisions are effective on April 1, 2020, and apply to leave taken between April 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. But how does FFCRA expand workers’ rights? (1) Paid Sick Leave. First, FFCRA contains the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act. This provides two weeks of paid sick leave for employees of covered employers when certain coronavirus-related conditions require the employee to take off work. (2) Expanded FMLA Rights including Paid FMLA Leave. Second, FFCRA contains the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act. This provides an additional ten weeks of paid leave for employees of covered employers when certain conditions are met. Specifically, some employees are eligible for paid FMLA leave when caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or childcare provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19. For more information on how FFCRA expands workers’ rights to paid leave, here is a helpful poster from the U.S. Department of Labor. If your employer has denied you leave or retaliated against you in any way for seeking leave, we are here to help 7 days a week. For a free and confidential consultation call us at (615) 744-9379 or email us at info@barrettjohnston.com. REASONABLE WORK ACCOMMODATIONS FOR WORKERS AT HIGH RISK OF CORONAVIRUS EXPOSURE Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), employers must make reasonable accommodations for certain workers with disabilities. Workers with underlying medical conditions that place you at greater risk of coronavirus infection (for example, asthma, compromised immune systems, heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, etc.) may qualify for reasonable accommodations under the ADA. One accommodation some employers can make is allowing work from home where possible. You must make a request for an accommodation if you need one. For more information on how work from home can serve as an ADA accommodation, here is a helpful fact sheet from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If your employer has denied a request for a reasonable accommodation, we are here to help 7 days a week. For a free and confidential consultation call us at (615) 744-9379 or email us at info@barrettjohnston.com. MORE QUESTIONS? The coronavirus pandemic and the government response to it has led to a changing legal landscape. We are here to help you navigate it. If you think your rights may have been violated, call us at (615) 744-9379 or email us at info@barrettjohnston.com for a free and confidential consultation. At Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison, LLC, we put people first.

Attention Servers in Kentucky: Have you been required by your employer to share your tips with your co-workers? Kentucky law strictly prohibits mandatory tip pooling. Our firm has recovered millions of dollars for servers whose rights have been violated under federal and state wage laws. Please call us at (615) 244-2202 or send us a direct message. Attorney Dave Garrison specializes in wage and hour collective and class action lawsuits. To read more about our wage and overtime practice, click here. Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison, LLC is based in Nashville, Tennessee, but represents workers all around the country.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) – the federal law setting minimum wage and overtime requirements – restaurants, bars, and other businesses that employ tipped workers, are permitted to pay their tipped employees less than the federal $7.25 per hour minimum wage as long as they follow certain rules. If a business does not follow these rules, then it owes its tipped employees the full minimum wage. Two rules businesses must follow, but often break are: Businesses must pay those employees at least $2.13 per hour, and the employees must earn enough tips to add up to the full $7.25 per hour minimum wage. In other words, their total tips must work out to at least $5.12 per hour. If the businesses require employees to share tips with other employees, then those tips can only be shared with other employees who “customarily and regularly receive tips.” In other words, tips can only be shared with other employees who earn tips and interact directly with customers. The business and its managers are never allowed to keep any part of tipped employees tips. Some of the ways businesses violate these rules are: Requiring servers or bartenders to share tips with employees who never interact with customers, like dishwashers, cooks, expediters, bar-backs, etc. Keeping part of the tips for the business or its managers. Deducting money from tipped employees’ pay for uniforms, broken dishes, cash register shortages, and unpaid customer meals and bar tabs. Not paying additional wages when the tips earned are not enough to make up the difference between the lower tipped hourly rate and the full $7.25 per hour minimum wage. These are just some of the ways businesses can ignore the rules to take advantage of some of their hardest working, but frequently lowest paid, employees. The U.S. Department of Labor has additional helpful information here . These unlawful practices can cost tipped employees hundreds or even thousands of dollars. For example, in one such case against a Red Robin franchisee in Pennsylvania, where the tipped workers alleged they were required to share tips with cooks, dishwashers, and janitors, the parties ultimately reached a $1.3 Million settlement. Ford, et al. v. Lehigh Valley Rest. Group, Inc., No. 3:14-cv-227-JMM (M.D. Pa.). We represent tipped employees who have been the victims of unlawful practices like these. Check out the coverage of one of our recent case on behalf of servers and bartenders at Nashville’s Downtown Sporting Club:

Jerry Martin, a partner at Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison, PLLC announced today that the Department of Justice has reached a $160 million settlement with Alere Inc., and its subsidiary Arriva Medical, LLC arising from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by the firm on behalf of its client, Greg Goodman. The lawsuit was filed 8 years ago and alleged that the Medicare program had been defrauded through an illegal kickback scheme by Arriva. Specifically, the complaint alleged that Arriva waived co-pay obligations and offered “free” home blood glucose monitors in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. According to the lawsuit, Arriva submitted false claims to the Medicare program that were tainted by this kickback scheme. Arriva was at one time the country’s largest supplier of mail order diabetic testing supplies for Medicare beneficiaries. But the company is now defunct, after having its Medicare supplier number revoked in 2016 once the government uncovered, as part of this investigation, that the company had billed Medicare for deceased beneficiaries. This $160 million settlement is the largest False Claims Act recovery ever in the Middle District of Tennessee. “This has been a true David versus Goliath story,” said Jerry Martin, who represented the whistleblower in this action. “Mr. Goodman was not a high-ranking executive; he worked at an Arriva call center. But he saw evidence of a major kickback scheme unfolding, and the False Claims Act gave him a tool to bring that scheme to the Government’s attention, and to ultimately help the Government recover $160 million in taxpayer money.” Mr. Martin’s colleague, Seth Hyatt added, “This case is a perfect example of the type of public-private partnership that the False Claims Act was meant to promote. We are grateful to the Department of Justice for their tireless work on this matter and for the incredible results achieved.” Mr. Martin served as a presidentially appointed United States Attorney from 2010 through 2013 in the Middle District of Tennessee. During his tenure, he was a leader in the federal government’s efforts to fight healthcare fraud. Today he represents individuals who wish to come forward and expose fraud and corruption. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. To read more about our whistleblower practice group, click here. To read the press release, click here.

A look back at the week’s news andxx developments affecting whistleblowers. SEC Awards Over $50 Million to Joint Whistleblowers This week the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an award of over $50 million to joint whistleblowers whose information alerted SEC staff to violations involving highly complex transactions that would otherwise have been very difficult to uncover. “Today’s award is the second largest in the history of the program, reflecting the tremendous contribution of these joint whistleblowers to our ability to recover funds for harmed investors,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “The SEC has now awarded over a quarter of a billion dollars to whistleblowers in the first seven months of this fiscal year alone, demonstrating the tremendous value of whistleblowers to our enforcement program.” The SEC has awarded approximately $812 million to 151 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012. To read the full press release, click here . Massachusetts Eye and Ear Agrees to Pay $2.6 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (Massachusetts Eye and Ear) has agreed to pay $2.678 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act . Specifically, the United States has alleged that between 2012 and 2020, Massachusetts Eye and Ear regularly submitted claims to Medicare and MassHealth for office visits where physicians performed certain medical procedures, like nasal endoscopies and laryngoscopies. Medicare and MassHealth do not permit billing for such office visits in addition to billing for the procedures, except under special circumstances that were not present here. To read the full article, click here . Miami-Based CareCloud Health Agrees to Pay $3.8 Million to Resolve Allegations It Paid Illegal Kickbacks CareCloud Health, Inc. (CareCloud), a Miami-based developer of electronic health records (EHR) software products, has agreed to pay $3.8 million to resolve allegations that it paid unlawful kickbacks to generate sales of its EHR products. The United States alleges that CareCloud violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute through its marketing referral program. Between 2012 and 2017, CareCloud purportedly offered and provided its existing clients cash equivalent credits, cash bonuses and percentage success payments to recommend CareCloud’s EHR products to prospective clients. The settlement resolves allegations filed by a whistleblower . The whistleblower will be awarded approximately $800,000. To read the DOJ press release, click here . To learn more about our Whistleblower & Qui Tam practice click here . Our firm is located in Nashville, Tennessee but we represent whistleblowers all around the country. Call us today at (615) 244-2202.

A look back at the week’s news and developments affecting whistleblowers. United States Intervenes in False Claims Act Lawsuit Against Connections Community Support Programs, Inc. The United States announced this week that it has filed a complaint in partial intervention against Connections Community Support Programs (“Connections”) in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. From at least January 2015 through October 2019, Connections purportedly submitted over 4,000 claims to Medicare in which it falsely certified that an individual holding an eligible qualification provided mental health services to Medicare beneficiaries when, in reality, a different Connections staff member who did not hold an eligible qualification provided the mental health service. The U.S. alleges that as a result of the false claims Connections submitted to Medicare and Medicaid, Connections was paid more than $4.5 million for mental health services for which it was not entitled to reimbursement. To read the full article, click here. Sixth Circuit Construes False Claims Act to Prohibit Post-Employment Retaliation Can an employer be held liable under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) for retaliation if it takes an adverse action against a former employee? Until recently, only one federal appellate court had addressed the issue, holding that the FCA does not cover post-employment retaliation . However, the Sixth Circuit recently reached the opposite conclusion in United States ex rel. Felten v. William Beaumont Hospital. The court found that extending the FCA’s protections to former employees was “the more accurate reading” of the statute. Although Beaumont is binding precedent only in the Sixth Circuit, it is a useful reminder to employers that retaliation against former employee whistleblowers may potentially give rise to costly litigation and liability under the FCA. To read the full article from the National Law Review, click here. Patient Recruiter Sentenced to Prison for $3.3 Million Cancer Genetic Testing Fraud Scheme A Florida man, Ivan Andre Scott, was sentenced this week to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud with a scheme that resulted in the submission of approximately $3.3 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for genetic testing. According to court documents, Scott allegedly targeted Medicare beneficiaries with telemarketing calls falsely stating that Medicare covered expensive cancer screening genetic testing, with each test costing as much as $6,000. After beneficiaries took the test, Scott allegedly paid unlawful bribes and kickbacks to telemedicine companies to obtain doctor’s orders authorizing the tests. To read the full DOJ press release, click here. To learn more about our Whistleblower & Qui Tam practice click here . Our firm is located in Nashville, Tennessee but we represent whistleblowers all around the country. Call us today at (615) 244-2202.

A look back at the week’s news and developments affecting whistleblowers. South Carolina’s Largest Urgent Care Provider Settles False Claims Act Allegations for $22.5 Million The Department of Justice announced this week that South Carolina’s largest urgent care provider network – and its management company, UCI Medical Affiliates of South Carolina, Inc. (“UCI”), will pay $22.5 million to resolve allegations of healthcare fraud in violation of the False Claims Act . The case began with a whistleblower complaint alleging that UCI falsely certified that certain urgent care visits were performed by providers who were credentialed to bill Medicaid, Medicare, and TRICARE for medical services. However, the services were performed by non-credentialed providers. Federal health insurance companies require medical providers to apply for and receive approval to bill any services to the insurer. To read the full DOJ press release, click here. Inside Nissan’s Battle with Ghosn: A Whistleblower Speaks Out Nissan Motor Co.’s former top lawyer, Ravinder Passi, who led an internal investigation into alleged financial misconduct by Carlos Ghosn, is speaking out for the first time about the arrest of ex-chairman Ghosn and what he views as a toxic corporate culture. Ghosn faced Japanese criminal indictments that he underreported his remuneration by more than $140 million and funneled millions of dollars into secret, off-shore entities. In late 2019, Ghosn escaped from Japan after being smuggled onto a private plane in a music equipment box. Once Passi wrote a detailed memo spelling out his worries about an internal investigation at Nissan surrounding Ghosn, he was swiftly removed from the investigation and shut out of board meetings. To read the full coverage from Bloomberg, click here. Pharmacist Charged in $4 Million Health Care Fraud and Kickback Scheme A New York man, John Sabet, was arrested for his role in a conspiracy to commit health care fraud and to pay kickback and bribes to customers for expensive prescription orders with more than $4 million in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. According to the indictment, Sabet conspired to pay kickbacks and bribes to customers to convince them to fill prescriptions at his pharmacies, and to pay customers cash in exchange for billing Medicare. To read the full DOJ press release, click here. To learn more about our Whistleblower & Qui Tam practice click here . Our firm is located in Nashville, Tennessee but we represent whistleblowers all around the country. Call us today at (615) 244-2202.