California Northstate sued again — this time for allegedly withholding meal breaks, overtime
A medical school asking for a city of Sacramento financial incentive to build a $1 billion Natomas hospital is being sued again.
The new class action lawsuit, filed Monday in Sacramento Superior Court, alleges the university violated state labor laws by failing to give proper meal breaks, overtime pay, and salaries.
Angel Brewer worked in the summer of 2023 as an office clerk at the Elk Grove medical school, the lawsuit states. The university did not pay Brewer minimum wage and required her to work off the clock, according to the lawsuit. Brewer worked over 12 hours of a day, but did not get the legally-required overtime pay. Managers also required Brewer to work through her lunch breaks or shorten them, which is against state law.
“We do not believe this case has any merit,” California Northstate spokesman Doug Elmets said.
The private for-profit university has faced scrutiny in recent years. In 2019 a state agency ordered the university to cease offering two programs designed to “fast track” students into careers in medicine. In 2022, the accrediting agency placed the school on probation for undisclosed reasons. As of Wednesday, it remained on probation.
“We are working through the accreditation process,” Elmets said Wednesday.
The school has also been hit with a series of lawsuits. The parents of several students in February 2023 filed a lawsuit alleging the university committed fraud when it promised medical school admission to students who had enrolled in an undergrad program, then denied their admission.
In April a former professor and a university applicant each filed lawsuits against the university alleging the university was responsible for a major 2023 data breach. That lawsuit is still active.
The school’s issues face a higher level of public scrutiny because the city plans to award a sizable financial incentive for the school to build the Natomas hospital. The $1 billion hospital, at the former Sleep Train Arena site, is planned to receive a so-called enhanced infrastructure financing district. Under that mechanism, new property tax revenue that would normally go toward the coffers of the city, facing a budget deficit, is redirected toward helping the developer fund the project — paying for infrastructure such as roads, stormwater and sewer improvements. The council took a step toward the financial incentive in April, but it has not yet taken the vote to approve it.
Depending when that vote gets on the council agenda, the new mayor may not be able to participate.
California Northstate University CEO Alvin Cheung on June 21 donated $1,000 to the campaign of Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, who’s running for Sacramento mayor, city documents show. If McCarty is elected, it appears he may need to abstain from votes that give California Northstate any financial benefit, or return $750 of the $1,000, according to a new state law. Sean McMorris of California Common Cause said if that situation arises, the city should seek an opinion from the California Fair Political Practices Commission ahead of the vote. Cheung donated $250 to Councilwoman Mai Vang on Aug. 17, an amount that allows Vang to still participate in votes.
McCarty’s opponent Flojaune Cofer has not received any campaign donations from Cheung or California Northstate. The new mayor, along with three new council members, will be sworn in in December.
Cheung has said he does not donate to politicians in order to buy their votes.
“I have contributed to many local and state elected officials who demonstrate an unwavering commitment to public service,” Cheung said in a statement last month.
The university has opened a new nursing school in Rancho Cordova, it announced earlier this week. That project did not receive any government financial incentives, Elmets said.
This story was originally published August 7, 2024 at 2:03 PM.
