Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services (NEON), a network of health centers focused on providing care to low-income and underserved communities, has been ordered to pay eleven current and former employees for wage theft. The employees, who filed suit in small claims court in March, were awarded judgments ranging from $1,400 to $5,000.

Wage Theft Judgments

The judgments, which were approved and confirmed by Judge Jeffrey D. Johnson or Judge Bridget M. O’Brien, were mailed to the current and former employees last week. NEON did not contest the claims and must also pay court costs. The court is requiring NEON to pay an annual interest rate of 7% from the date of each judgment.

According to Andy Schumann, an organizer with the Northeast Ohio Worker Center, which helped the current and former NEON employees file their wage theft claims, the favorable court decision is only the first step in the quest to get back pay. Schumann stated that the current and former employees may have to pursue other legal action if NEON doesn’t pay up in a timely manner.

NEON operates seven health centers, primarily in East Side Cleveland neighborhoods, and two mobile units. The nonprofit has been struggling financially for a couple of years and is currently embroiled in a legal battle with All Pro Capital, a New Jersey-based lender.

Original reporting: Signal Cleveland — read the source article.