Chicago Ryze West nursing home staff walk out over pay dispute

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Nurses at a nursing home in the city's Austin neighborhood say new ownership has caused major issues with them getting paid.

Some of the staff have now walked off the job in response to the issues. They claim in the last pay period, Aliya Healthcare paid them then took back the payment.

Aliya manages the Ryze West nursing facility off Jackson Boulevard. The company reportedly told employees they would be paid by 3 p.m. Wednesday, but the nurses have yet to see their money.

Those nurses said Aliya Healthcare took over June and since then they have had long-standing issues getting their paychecks on time. Nurses claim they did not get paid during the last pay period, and in this most recent pay period, they said the company took back their money citing a clerical issue.

Victoria Anderson, a licensed practical nurse, said she's quitting because of it.

"They were supposed to directly deposited our payroll Wednesday June 21st and the administrator -nobody, people walked around all day, didn't address us to or nothing," she said.

"Don't pay us when you feel like when you want to pay us. My bills have to be paid I have to pay rent like I just said I have to pay my insurance I have to pay the light bill and my gas bill," said Dorothy Kirkwood, nurse

Jimeka Green came to Ryze West Wednesday morning to visit her uncle, who is a patient, and said some of the nurses walked out of the job out of frustration.

"We came up here to visit my uncle, earlier today, me and some other family members, and we walked into a situation where the staff wasn't working," she said. "They was refusing to work and said that they didn't get paid, they're not getting paid and they're not gonna work for free."

ABC7 has reached out to Aliya Healthcare multiple times for comment, but have yet to hear back.

The Illinois Department of Public Health said they haven't received any reports of staffing issues but are now investigating.