T-Mobile call center employees have just settled their claims of unpaid wages for $2 million. Nearly 7,000 customer service representatives will benefit from this settlement that resolved allegations of unpaid overtime. These customer service representatives claimed they consistently worked off-the-clock without compensationthat resulted in unpaid overtime. This proposed class and collective action lawsuit, that was originally filed in March of 2019, was brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).
Specifically, the lawsuit alleged that T-Mobile forced affected employees to spend time starting up computers and numerous software and programs before being allowed to clock-in. These multiple computer programs, software programs, servers, and applications are fundamental in order to complete their work. In order to start up and log into these integral and important systems, call center employees would spend a minimum of 13 minutes every shift without pay. Additionally, T-Mobile also required affected employees into other moments of off-the-clock work during unpaid lunch breaks bringing up the tally of uncompensated work time to an average of 20 minutes per shift.
It is important to remember that pre-shift and post-shift work should be compensable under the FLSA. If you work in this industry as a customer service representative or in a similar role and find yourself constantly working off the clock here and there, you may have actionable claims. These time blocks add up over time and you may actually be owed a significant amount in unpaid wages. If you have any questions or concerns, call our employment law firm, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP, for a free and confidential phone consultation at (212) 300-0375. You can also visit our website here for additional information regarding your rights.