A Texas judge agrees with a former Methodist Health System employee that potentially thousands of nurses in two North Texas cities were routinely docked pay for lunch breaks they couldn't take.

Robert J. Straka filed a lawsuit against the Dallas-based health system in 2016 under the Fair Labor Standards Act. He sought collective action, claiming that about 4,500 nurses who worked at four Methodist Health facilities were subject to the same payment policy.

Judge Jane Boyle of the Northern District of Texas Court agreed. On Tuesday, she signed an order stating that collective action is entitled, and requiring the health system to provide to the court by the end of the month the names and contact for all other nurses who might have been affected.

Straka’s lawsuit called into question a long-standing policy which he said failed to properly compensate non-exempt nurses for work performed.

The lawsuit noted the hospital’s policy that requires nurses remain responsible for patient care their entire shift. Lunch breaks could be frequently interrupted as a result. But 30 minutes of lunch pay is routinely docked from the nurses' paychecks -- even when those meal breaks could not be completed in full, court documents stated.

Judge Boyle noted that several other nurses have come forward, and that those nurses indicated knowledge of more nurses with similar experiences. “This evidence sufficiently demonstrates aggrieved individuals exist,” Boyle wrote in the order.

Methodist Health called into question the accuracy of the plaintiff's "interpretation of the relevant facts" when it formally denied the allegations in court documents.

In a statement emailed to The Dallas Morning News Wednesday, the health system said it values its employees and is committed to complying with all legal requirements. It also raised concerns about Straka's intentions.

"The person who filed the lawsuit is a former employee who worked at Methodist for less than a year and who, we understand, has tried to file similar claims against other employers in the past," the statement read. "Methodist will confidently defend itself against the claims."

However, according to court filings, human resources director for Methodist Mansfield Medical Center Judy Laister confirmed the health system’s payment policies during a deposition last spring. Employees are expected to take a 30-minute “uninterrupted” lunch, she told the court.

She also acknowledged that nurses get pulled from those breaks regularly and said there are no policies preventing the interruptions from happening. The hospital deducts pay for the 30 minutes unless the nurse uses his or her “professional judgment” to record a shorter break, she told the court.

A total of seven nurses from Methodist’s Dallas, Charlton and Mansfield hospitals have opted to join the lawsuit, court documents state. No nurse came forward from a facility in Richardson, so employees from that city will not be included in the collective action case, the judge’s order said.

Methodist Health has until April 27 to provide the names of all nurses potentially affected by the lunch-break policy. Those nurses will have a 60-day window to opt in to the case after that.

Read the full Memorandum Opinion and Order here