In a case handled by attorneys at the Shavitz Law Group, Call Center Representatives recently won a major victory at the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Call Center Representatives performed work each shift while starting up their computers and loading the necessary computer programs to perform their duties.
The employer did not pay for this work which happened on every shift. The employer argued that it did not have to pay for such work.
The Court ruled that the Call Center Representatives are entitled to pay for these tasks, scoring a major victory for the workers in the case.
The case will soon head back to the lower court to determine the amount of damages owed to the workers.
Shavitz Law Group is proud to represent the Call Center Representatives in this case.
If you experienced any unpaid wage issues, please contact us at 800-616-4000 and we can provide a free case evaluation.
Employees who are the victims of unfair wage practices often wonder how much they can claim in damages. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which is a federal law that applies to minimum and overtime wage claims, employees can sue for claims arising within the past two years. If an employee can prove that the company willfully violated the law, then they can sue for damages arising within the last three years.
Many companies require employees to take training courses and complete training modules during their employment. Some companies require their employees to complete this training while they are at home and not on the clock. Employees will log into websites and complete required training courses without being paid for the time. 
Many people mistakenly believe that salaried workers are not entitled to overtime pay. However, whether or not salaried workers are owed overtime wages all depends on their job duties.
No matter which industry employees work in, taking a complete and uninterrupted meal break is nearly impossible. This is exacerbated in our modern world where it seems like everyone is constantly on call and connected. Co-workers email and text each other nearly all day. Employees may stop to take a meal break but then get interrupted by a co-worker who needs help addressing a work issue or customer matter. But, that employee never completes their meal break. Employees often take unpaid meal breaks and do not get paid when they work during those breaks.
2020: it’s been a very tough year. Our country is still suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Unemployment levels are high and people cannot return to work “as normal” given the challenges of the virus spread and containing it.
Have you ever sat down to eat your lunch and have a co-worker interrupt you with a work question? Have you ever clocked out for lunch only to be interrupted by a customer needing help?
Many people work in the “gig economy.” They drive for Uber or Lyft; they provide food delivery services for Postmates or Grubhub; they also deliver groceries through Amazon. Many gig workers have “independent contractor” agreements with these companies which provide them with terms of compensation. Oftentimes, these agreements do not include overtime pay or benefits. In fact, not paying overtime and providing benefits is one of the reasons companies have these agreements — they save big bucks by not paying workers what they’re rightfully owed.
Many call center and customer service representatives are not paid correctly. These employees arrive at work before the start of their shift to allow time to boot up their computers, load the necessary programs and software to perform their tasks, and review e-mail correspondence to be ready to take calls. However, many call center and customer service representatives do not start getting paid until they clock in after performing all of these tasks.