(Radio Iowa) – An attorney representing thousands of employees at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics says the health system has agreed to pay 15 million dollars to settle a wage dispute. Earlier this year a federal judge ruled the health system owed as many as 11-thousand current and former employees of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for delaying overtime payments by more than a month. Iowa law requires all wages earned to be paid within 12 days of the end of the pay period.

Documents being filed in federal court indicate the university admits no wrongdoing, but is offering the 15 million dollar settlement to avoid additional litigation costs. The lawsuit was filed in 2019, on behalf of health care workers and support staff. Under the agreement, employees who may have been underpaid are to be contacted and given 45 days to opt out of the settlement. Then, the full list of employees who’ll be getting payments will be developed.