More than 18 months after announcing he would investigate Valley Children’s Hospital for wage theft, Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz says the probe is “on pause” while the hospital’s most recent employee wage theft lawsuit plays out in court.
In a recent interview with The Fresno Bee, Janz said he will “defer” to Brian Whelan, the attorney representing a nurse who sued Valley Children’s in Madera County Superior Court for wage theft in June 2024. Janz said he believes Whelan is working out a potential settlement between the employees and the hospital but added he “can’t speak” to his own investigation of the hospital any further.
June 2024 announcement that he would investigate whether Madera County-based Valley Children’s committed wage theft at its Fresno facilities came at an opportune moment for the city attorney. Valley Children’s had fallen into a highly-publicized controversy as tax filings revealed it had assigned its CEO, Todd Suntrapak, compensation packages of more than $5 million in 2021 and 2022…