Massachusetts healthcare workers demand answers after not being paid for over a month
NEWTON - Healthcare workers at Blupoint Healthcare say they have not been paid in more than a month. Now, they are demanding to know why their paychecks are bouncing at the bank.
"There are just a lot of excuses"
One employee said that she has gone four weeks without a paycheck and needed to transfer money from her savings account to pay her bills.
Blackstone Valley Health and Rehabilitation is one of four long-term care facilities owned by Blupoint Healthcare in Newton. Employees at three of their facilities, Quabbin Valley Healthcare in Athol, Mill Town Health and Rehabilitation in Amesbury, and Pioneer Valley Health and Rehabilitation in South Hadley, say that they are owed back pay.
Andrea McCredy is a nurse at Mill Town, and she says the company owes her four thousand dollars. She tells the I-Team that she went to the bank Friday morning to cash her checks, and the checks bounced because there were no funds in Blupoint's account.
"I have three checks in my purse that are basically just paper right now. They are not worth anything," Andrea says.
Over the last month, the company has sent text messages to employees blaming bank routing numbers and offering workers paper checks.
"It's just been a lot of excuses. On July 3rd, we got a text that afternoon saying on July 5th, the owner would be coming in to sign new checks. They said he's not local, so that's why it's taking longer," one employee said.
Working with no pay
The I-Team went to Blupoint's office to get answers. Employees said that the owners were not on site, but they were aware that nursing home workers were not being paid.
Despite being owed thousands, the workers say they are still going to work because the residents are like family. Andrea says she feels responsible for the people she is caring for, "I don't want to let them down. It's not their fault."
Others say they love their jobs and the residents, but working without getting paid is difficult. They hope that now that it is out in the open, things will change, and their checks will finally clear at the bank.
The I-Team reached out to the Department of Health and the Attorney General's Office. They have both received complaints by employees and vendors about payments, but cannot comment on open investigations.