UPS Faces $100 Million Overtime Lawsuit

Atlanta, GAWhen it comes to fighting for overtime pay, employees who believe their employers are violating overtime laws are not giving up. In fact, some of them are filing lawsuits, attempting to receive pay for overtime hours worked. One such lawsuit was filed against UPS, alleging the company owes $100 million in damages for not properly paying certain employees for all hours worked.

According to an Associated Press article (August 19, 2009), the lawsuit was filed by Laura Meza, a UPS employee since 2005, and alleges that UPS does not pay overtime to account managers who perform door-to-door sales pitches to potential business clients. The plaintiff claims she and other account managers were classified as exempt from overtime pay but, since they do not actually make sales—they simply promote the company's products—or perform managerial work, they should not be classified as administrative or outside salespeople and should therefore be paid overtime wages for hours worked in excess of 40 per week.

Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that these account managers are not given mandatory meal and rest breaks. Finally, it alleges that UPS does not keep accurate records of hours worked.

Meza says she regularly worked 60 hours a week but was paid a straight salary and did not receive overtime pay. The lawsuit seeks more than $100 million in damages plus attorneys' fees and seeks to represent other UPS employees in similar situations to Meza.

"I work up to 60 hours every week," Ms. Meza described in a press release (August 19, 2009). "My day starts at 6 a.m., when I have to go to the office to get my daily manifest lists and respond to calls and emails from customers and supervisors. From 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., I'm out in the field pitching UPS products to customers. When I finally come home, I have to keep responding to work emails. And even on weekends, vacations and sick days, I'm routinely expected to do paperwork, calls and emails for work. That's the grinding routine that UPS requires of all of us account managers."

UPS is also known as United Parcel Service and has 415,000 employees around the world. A spokesperson for the company, Susan Rosenberg, said, she could not comment on the lawsuit because the company had not yet seen the papers, but did say that UPS believes its account managers are not eligible for overtime because they are part of the UPS sales structure.