Unpaid ambulance workers sue in federal court

LANCASTER, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ambulance workers who say they weren't paid have launched a class action lawsuit in federal court.

Davian Rogers and Jerrod Rogers joined Stephanie Nicklas to sue Pickaway Plains Ambulance Service, owner of ProCare Medical Transportation.

Davian Rogers said she'd planned to stay with the company until she experienced three paycheck delays in July. Her husband, Jerrod, is also a Type-1 insulin-dependent diabetic, and they have two school-age children. The lack of pay hit them hard.

"Everybody's entitled to be fairly compensated for the work they perform," said attorney Robert DeRose of Barkan, Meizlish, DeRose & Cox, which filed the suit on behalf of 10 workers. "The employer, in this instance Pickaway Plains Ambulance Service, got the benefit of my clients' labor, and just chose not to pay them."

The lawsuit is structured as a class action, "so that we can reach out to others who have been injured by this employer, and it's on behalf of all the workers not just the ones that have contacted us," DeRose said.

In addition to asking for backpay, there will be monetary penalties under federal and state law, DeRose said. The suit also asks for damages and attorney costs.

"The employer can't escape paying these individuals," DeRose said. "They just can't have the individuals work for free. We're very hopeful that we'll get them paid for this amount, plus the penalties that are owed."

NBC4 reached out to Scott Pullins, attorney for Pickaway Plains, for comment, but has yet to receive a reply.