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On January 4, 2012, Riggan Law Firm, LLC, a Missouri overtime law firm, working in connection with Weinhaus & Potashnick, filed a class action overtime lawsuit against St. Louis-based cable provider, Charter Communications. To read a copy of the lawsuit, click here.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a class of telephone customer service representatives (“CSRs”) at a call center in St. Louis, alleges that Charter violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and Missouri law by failing to pay CSRs for time they spent working “off the clock” on a daily basis before and after their designated shifts. Specifically, the CSRs claim that they spent work time booting up their computers and logging in to various computer programs and applications to be ready to begin taking calls, and that these work activities occurred before their paid shift began. Also, the CSRs claim that they spent work time logging out of computer programs and powering down their computers, and that these work activities occurred after their paid shift ended. Since CSRs consistently work 40 or more hours per week, the unpaid work time of the CSRs consists of unpaid overtime. In the lawsuit, the CSRs seek unpaid overtime, liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees, and court costs.
In the current economy, employers allowing or requiring employees to work “off the clock” and without compensation is, unfortunately, a common problem, especially for telephone representatives working at call centers. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor has issued a fact sheet noting the common wage law violations by employers who operate call centers.
If you employer permits or requires you to engage in work while you are “off the clock,” you may be entitled to additional pay under the law. If you wish to assert a claim or better understand your rights to fair pay, you should contact a Missouri overtime lawyer.