Hourly, non-exempt employees of Pennsylvania health system Geisinger may be covered by a proposed class and collective action alleging Geisinger rounded their clock-in and clock-out times to the nearest 15 minutes in a way that shorted their overtime pay. No class has been certified and there is nothing to file yet.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class and collective action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. Geisinger has not been found liable, there is no certified class or collective, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational. It is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
A longtime Geisinger Medical Center employee filed a proposed class and collective action on October 21, 2026 against Geisinger Health, Geisinger Medical Center and Geisinger System Services. The case is Campbell-Perdue v. Geisinger Health, No. 4:26-cv-03129, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. It alleges that, until sometime in 2025, Geisinger paid hourly workers from their scheduled shift times rather than their actual clock-in and clock-out times, rounding to the nearest 15 minutes, and that the practice cost them overtime pay.The complaint describes Geisinger as an integrated health system serving communities throughout Pennsylvania, with about 28,000 employees and roughly $9 billion in annual revenue, citing Geisinger’s own website. The plaintiff, who lives in Northumberland County, says she has worked at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville as a Patient Contact Specialist for about a decade and is paid hourly as a non-exempt employee.
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What the Complaint Alleges
According to the complaint, Geisinger required hourly employees to clock in and out at timekeeping devices inside its facilities. Before a change sometime in 2025, it allegedly paid them not from their exact punches but from times rounded to the nearest 15-minute increment, which the complaint calls the “rounding rule.”The complaint alleges that the rule worked against employees at both ends of the shift because of other policies enforced at the same time:
- Before the shift. Employees were allegedly expected to clock in early, could not clock in more than 7 minutes before their scheduled start, and faced discipline for clocking in late. The plaintiff says that for a 10:30 a.m. shift she typically clocked in about 5 minutes early and started working right away, but was not paid until 10:30.
- After the shift. Employees were allegedly required to finish work before clocking out. The plaintiff says that on a 7:00 p.m. shift she often kept working past 7:00 and clocked out by 7:07 to avoid discipline, but was paid only until 7:00.
Why Rounding Can Be Unlawful
Federal Department of Labor regulations, at 29 C.F.R. § 785.48, accept rounding to the nearest 5, 10 or 15 minutes only if it averages out over time so that employees are paid for all the time they actually work. The complaint alleges that Geisinger’s rule did not average out, because the surrounding policies pushed nearly all of the rounded-off minutes in Geisinger’s favor.Pennsylvania law is stricter, according to the complaint. It cites the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in Heimbach v. Amazon.com, which held that the state Minimum Wage Act requires pay for even small, “de minimis” amounts of work time, and argues that the act has no exception for rounding.
The claims are tied to overtime. The complaint notes that hospitals may calculate overtime either on a standard 40-hour workweek or under the alternative “8/80” method — overtime after 8 hours in a day or 80 hours in a two-week pay period — and says the suit seeks overtime under whichever method applied.
The Proposed Collective and Classes
The complaint seeks to represent people employed by the Geisinger defendants who were classified as non-exempt from overtime and whose paid start and end times were rounded. It proposes three groups, each with its own look-back period:- Federal FLSA collective — employees on or after October 21, 2023, for unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act class — employees on or after October 21, 2020. The complaint acknowledges that this six-year look-back rests on a state trial court ruling that is on appeal and conflicts with several federal decisions applying three years.
- Unjust enrichment class — employees on or after October 21, 2022, under Pennsylvania common law.
The case is a “hybrid.” Under the FLSA, workers become part of a collective only by filing a written consent to join, usually after a court approves notice. The Pennsylvania claims are brought as a Rule 23 class action, in which members are included automatically unless they opt out after a class is certified.
What Happens Next
Geisinger had not responded in court when this page was published. In cases like this, the plaintiff typically asks the court to conditionally certify the FLSA collective so notice can go out to current and former employees, and the employer may respond with a motion to dismiss or contest certification. None of that has happened yet. Geisinger has not been found to have done anything wrong, and there is no settlement or claim form.Questions
Who is covered by the Geisinger timeclock rounding lawsuit?
The complaint seeks to represent people employed by Geisinger Health, Geisinger Medical Center or Geisinger System Services who were classified as non-exempt from overtime and whose paid start and end times were rounded. The proposed federal collective reaches back to October 21, 2023, the proposed Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act class to October 21, 2020, and the unjust enrichment class to October 21, 2022. No court has certified any class or collective.
What is timeclock rounding and when is it allowed?
Rounding means paying from a rounded time, such as the nearest quarter hour, instead of the exact minute an employee clocked in or out. Federal regulations allow it only if it averages out over time so employees are paid for all the time they actually work. The complaint argues that Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage Act has no rounding exception and requires payment for even small increments of work.
Does Geisinger still round employees’ time?
According to the complaint, Geisinger began paying employees to the minute at some point in 2025. The lawsuit concerns the period before that change. The complaint does not give the exact date.
How does a hybrid collective and class action work?
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act claim proceeds as a collective action, in which employees are included only if they file a written consent to join after a court authorizes notice. The Pennsylvania claims proceed as a Rule 23 class action, in which class members are included automatically unless they opt out once a class is certified. The Third Circuit has held that the two can proceed in the same lawsuit.
Is there a Geisinger settlement or claim form?
No. The case was filed October 21, 2026 and is at the complaint stage. Geisinger has not responded in court, no class or collective has been certified, and there is no settlement or claim form.
Sources
• Class/Collective Action Complaint, Campbell-Perdue v. Geisinger Health, No. 4:26-cv-03129 (M.D. Pa., filed October 21, 2026) — complaint (PDF) and docket, via CourtListener• U.S. Department of Labor regulation on rounding — 29 C.F.R. § 785.48
