One former Mercy Emergency Room employee said she still has not been paid for one month of work, so KHOU 11 went to the experts to ask for solutions.
SUGAR LAND, Texas — Employees of Mercy Emergency Room in Sugar Land were surprised to learn last week that the owning physician’s medical license was suspended.
The Texas Medical Board temporarily suspended Dr. Bamidele Adeyemo’s medical license on April 17.
Board documents revealed that Adeyemo “is suffering from an unmanaged health condition that impairs his ability to safely practice medicine. Respondent is currently engaged in the practice of medicine without any oversight or monitoring.” The Board found that if Adeyemo continued to practice as a physician, he “would constitute a continuing threat to the public welfare.”
Christina Martinez, who worked the front desk at Mercy Emergency Room, said she found out about the situation a few days after the license was suspended. She said that was when she put the closed sign on the door.
“I was in disbelief. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that we were working like that, and that he would let us work like that,” Martinez said.
KHOU 11 asked what the Texas Medical Board could be referring to when mentioning Adeyemo’s “unmanaged health condition.”
“I never noticed anything like physically wrong with him,” Martinez said. “But we did notice a little bit, like maybe he was just absent from being here. He would kind of hide and go into his room a little bit.”
Martinez also said that she and other employees did not receive their Friday, April 25, paychecks on time. KHOU 11 called a phone number listed for Adeyemo – and three days after KHOU 11 started asking questions, Martinez said she and other workers got paid on Monday.
However, former marketing employee Brandi Fitzgerald said she still has not been paid. She said she worked at Mercy Emergency Room during the month of March but left because she didn’t receive any payment.
“There were two pay periods that I was not paid for my work here,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said it was an unfortunate situation, given she has known Adeyemo for about five years.
“It’s gut-wrenching somebody that you had so much respect for is capable of doing something like that. We even called each other family there for a long period of time,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald also said she could not get ahold of Adeyemo.
KHOU 11 tried calling Adeyemo’s listed phone number again Monday, both in regard to the license suspension and Fitzgerald’s accusation of not being paid. However, no one picked up the phone and the call was sent to voicemail.
KHOU 11 spoke to Tom Padgett, a Houston wage theft lawyer with the Buenker Law Firm, to get solutions for Fitzgerald – and other employees who may be struggling to receive the payments due to them.
Padgett said the first course of action for an employee to take if they have not been paid is to try and connect with the employer. However, such as in Fitzgerald’s case, employers are sometimes difficult to reach.
“If they’re going to ghost you or stonewall you, then you’ve got to take matters into your own hands,” Padgett said.
Padgett said there are a couple things an employee in Texas can do if they have not been paid the wages owed to them.
“One is to sue them in state court for a breach of contract,” Padgett said. “The other option they have that’s generally a pretty good one, is to go to the Texas Workforce Commission and make a complaint with that organization. They generally handle situations where somebody’s not getting paid, maybe a month, maybe a couple of weeks, or something like that, and if you go through the process with the Texas Workforce Commission, frequently they can get you the money.”
Padgett said the easiest way to file a claim is to go to the Texas Workforce Commission website, and then that will kickstart the process.
“Generally, you’ll be contacted by an investigator who will then take more detail on the complaint, and then they’ll process it. They’ll reach out to the employer, find out if the employer is interested in maybe resolving the matter quickly, and if not, then, they’ll go through a fact-finding process and make a determination, which they can then enforce,” Padgett said.
Another big concern for patients is not having access to their health records or knowing where they may end up if their physician’s office closes permanently.
According to the Texas Medical Board, you should put your medical records request in writing and send it to the physician’s address listed on the physician’s profile on the Texas Medical Board website. But you can also contact the Texas Medical Board if you have issues getting in touch with your physician.
The American Medical Association also has a list of helpful steps you can take.