When one Valley Children’s nurse saw a $55 settlement check in the mail, he was confused. He knew about the lawsuit against the hospital for paying on-call wages far below California minimum wage, but the settlement description said nothing about on-call rates.

He didn’t know about a separate class-action lawsuit from 2021 regarding meal and rest period pay, Westfall v. Valley Children’s. The $400,000 settlement paid by the hospital — filed 11 days after the on-call lawsuit was filed — releases claims beyond the meal and rest period, including on-call rates.

That nurse did not want to be named, but for lead plaintiff Bonnie Ferreria, in her on-call lawsuit, the settlement payment covers less than an hour’s wages.

A timeline of events shows Valley Children’s attorneys knew about the class-action lawsuit for on-call wages before Westfall was decided, said Fresno attorney Brian Whelan, who represents Ferreria and other hospital workers in their on-call case.

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Despite knowing that the case would destroy Whelan’s, it wasn’t until more than a month after the settlement agreement was decided that Whelan was informed how the Westfall case would affect his claimants.

“(The) Westfall release is overly broad, and it sweeps all these different claims that were not even envisioned or discussed in that case,” Whelan said Monday. “The Westfall case destroys the Ferreria case for less than pennies on the dollar, like fractions of a penny on the dollar.”

Valley Children’s denies allegations made in the Westfall lawsuit, said hospital chief communications officer Zara Arboleda.

“Although Valley Children’s Hospital strongly denies all allegations in the Westfall lawsuit, we’ve agreed to a settlement so we and our employees can focus on providing high-quality healthcare to our patients and our community, rather than on litigation,” Arboleda said. “The court has preliminarily approved the settlement. A duplicate lawsuit, known as the Ferreria matter, similarly is without merit. Its potential claims will be settled under the ‘Westfall’ resolution. Valley Children’s looks forward to putting these cases behind us.”

Ferreria Says She’s Owed $27,000

Despite blocking Ferreria’s claims, nowhere in the Westfall case does it address on-call wages, Whelan said.

Ferreria, in her statement to the court, said she only received between $5 and $8 an hour for being on call. Based on the number of on-call hours worked, she said the hospital owes her $27,832.

She said dozens of employees she’s spoken with are “frustrated” about the settlement. Whelan said many of the claimants did not know that the Westfall case about meals and rest periods affected Ferreria’s, lawsuit about on-call rates. Now, the window for employees to object to the settlement is fast closing, ending on Sept. 30.

“People are frustrated and upset that VCH is trying to reduce their claims to less than a single hour of their base pay when they are owed significantly more,” Ferreria said in her declaration.

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VCH Attorneys Asked Whelan for Ferreria Case Documents

When Whelan’s lawsuit was filed June 6, it made major news. GV Wire’s story came out June 12. That same day, attorney Daniel McQueen representing Valley Children’s Hospital contacted Whelan for a copy of his lawsuit, Whelan told GV Wire.

The settlement in Westfall was filed six days later, June 18. It was preliminarily approved on July 16.

Whelan said he was never notified by Valley Children’s attorneys about the lawsuit. He wouldn’t find out about the Westfall case until his client received the preliminary terms in the mail on Aug. 25. It was then that he found out that employees only had until Sept. 30 to object to the settlement terms.

McQueen and Valley Children’s other attorney, Ian Wieland, did not respond to emails from GV Wire. Attorneys for plaintiff Briana Westfall did not respond to emails from GV Wire, either.

“At no point did Mr. McQueen or anyone with VCH or any of their many defense attorneys provide any information about this Westfall case,” Whelan said in his declaration. “VCH and its counsel knew and know about the differences in claims between this Westfall case and Ferreria action. Indeed, in June 2024 VCH, through its authorized spokespeople, commented to multiple press outlets on the Ferreria Action.”

Employees Have Short Window to Object: Whelan

Once he found out about the Westfall case in June, Whelan reached out to attorneys representing Westfall, as well as the claims administrator, to find out how the settlement might affect his case.

Despite being told they would get him the documents that day, those documents never came, Whelan said.

Whelan said Wieland contacted him Sept. 3, but told him because of attorney-client privilege, he could not discuss or send out settlement terms earlier. Whelan said that he contacted Westfall’s attorneys asking for documents. He didn’t get them until he filed his motion.

In the settlement, attorneys for Westfall will receive no more than $133,333, according to court documents. Reimbursement for costs and expenses will not exceed $25,000.

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Being a case about meals and rest periods, the Westfall case includes a broader class of employees than the Ferreria case. Whelan’s case involves non-exempt employees who work on-call shifts. Whelan estimates that the claimants should be awarded $25,000 each.

Whelan called the settlement terms “unfair” for employees.

“Bonnie Ferreria, she’s owed at least $28,000 or something like that,” Whelan told GV Wire. “So, in this Westfall case, they proposed to pay her $54. So if she were to accept $54 or if she doesn’t object or opt out timely, then her claims are all wiped out, it’s the same for everybody else.”

Whelan said employees objecting to the settlement have until Sept. 30 to file their response, either by contacting the claim administrator or Whelan’s office.

Fresno Wage Theft Investigation Continues

Shortly after Whelan’s lawsuit was filed, the Fresno City Attorney’s office launched an investigation into potential violations by the hospital. The hospital has some operations within the city.

City Attorney Andrew Janz said when it comes to wage theft allegations, the preference is always to have the employees and employers come to a mutual agreement.

“Unfortunately, this office cannot support the proposed settlement as it stands,” Janz said. “For that reason, our investigation into these claims will remain open.”