Global Payments Inc., a financial technology company, has agreed to settle a lawsuit with over 100 remote customer service workers. The employees claimed they were systematically underpaid for the significant time spent starting up and logging into their computers systems daily. The agreement follows a mediation last month, and the parties anticipate finalizing the terms and submitting settlement approval papers in February.
The lawsuit, filed by the Plaintiffs in late 2022, alleged that remote call center workers, including themselves, were not compensated for the time it took to boot up and log into necessary software and phone systems before beginning work for the day.
In 2023, a U.S. district judge conditionally certified a class of current and former remote Global Payments employees all sharing similar job responsibilities and hourly pay rates over the past three years. Around 115 workers joined the case after class certification. The complaint highlighted that remote customer service workers had to be ready to take calls as soon as their eight-hour shifts began. Failure to do so, due to the time-consuming boot-up process and software logins, could result in penalties. Additionally, workers had to use part of their unpaid lunch break to log back into mandatory systems because they were automatically logged out after a brief period of inactivity. After finishing work for the day, employees allegedly had to spend additional unpaid minutes powering down and logging off.
The Plaintiffs, working in roles as fraud analysts with a pay rate of $15 per hour, alleged that Global Payments did not adequately reimburse them for the additional hours spent getting ready for daily calls. The lawsuit alleged that the company violated overtime regulations outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act. The aim was to advocate for all customer service representatives at Global Payments who engaged in comparable off-the-clock duties. In 2023, adjustments were made to the complaint to encompass Total System Services, a company that had merged with Global Payments back in 2019.
It is crucial for workers to be fairly compensated for every hour dedicated to their responsibilities, including the time spent booting up and shutting down computer systems. If you find yourself in a situation where you believe you are not being adequately paid for the entirety of your work hours, our team of attorneys at Fitapelli & Schaffer is here to help. We provide complimentary consultations and are committed to advocating for your rights; ensuring you obtain fair compensation for your dedication and hard work.