Unpaid Overtime Hitting All Sectors

New York, NYAlthough Sprint is not compelled or required to admit any wrongdoing, the communications company is nonetheless required to pay $8.8 million as part of an unpaid overtime settlement relating to a trio of lawsuits brought against the company by call center workers. The employees allege that Sprint failed to pay overtime, and other compensation.

The largest suit was filed in Kansas and represented Sprint call centers in Lenexa; Oklahoma City; Orlando, Florida; Rio Rancho, New Mexico and Fort Worth, Texas. That suit was worth $6.4 million. Two other suits filed in California and New York will be settled with payouts of $2 million and $325,000 respectively.

The suits collectively seek alleged unpaid wages and penalties for all employees who worked at a Sprint call center, excluding those in California and New York, as a telephone-dedicated customer service representative or specialist at any time from April 24, 2004 through the present. Also qualifying are all those who worked at a Sprint call center in those capacities in California at any time from May 18, 2003, through the present; and those employed by Nextel of New York Inc. who worked at a Sprint call center in New York in those capacities any time from June 28, 2001, through the present.

Meanwhile two employees of Merrill Lynch and Bank of American have filed suit against their employer citing unpaid overtime to which they were entitled.

Andrea Levine, or Staten Island and Ivey Morre, of Mount Vernon New York are employed as Derivatives Settlement Specialists (DSS), and allege that they and other Merrill Lynch DSS employees have been "blatantly misclassified as 'exempt'" and "regularly worked in excess of 40 hours per week and were not paid time and one half for any and all hours over 40 in a given week."

Attorneys representing the two plaintiffs will seek to have the lawsuit certified as a class action open to any DSS employee who has worked for Merrill Lynch at any time over the past three years.

While the complaint is against Merrill Lynch, Bank of America is named as a co-defendant given its purchase of Merrill Lynch, which was finalized on January 1st. The merger has effectively created the largest wealth management organization in the world.

Employees who therefore work as Derivatives Settlement Specialists could be forgiven for feeling that such success has been built on the backs of salaried employees who habitually work more than 40 hours in a week, but who allegedly do not see overtime pay for their efforts and may be unaware of their entitlement to premium overtime pay, according to the text of the lawsuit and the comments of the legal team.

It has long been an issue where companies, either accidentally or purposefully miss-classify employees in a bid to avoid paying them overtime. All too often, employees are completely unaware of the slight-of-hand that robs them of thousands of dollars per year, and therefore fair and reasonable compensation for their efforts.

However, it takes someone on the inside, usually, to blow the whistle—and employees could be forgiven for wanting to lay low and let it go, given the economic times. These days, with jobless numbers rising, most are simply thankful to be still working, and to keep food on the table.

The fact remains however, that employers have a legal, as well as a moral responsibility to pay their employees fairly for work performed. Various laws and statutes govern that responsibility. Any employer who fails to adhere to those regulations, and therefore fails to pay correct overtime pay for work performed, is patently breaking the law and should be brought to justice.

That, in itself, would be reason enough to pursue a claim. But the added benefit of a few thousand extra dollars in your pocket—especially in these tough economic times—should be incentive enough for anyone to pull the trigger on an overtime pay violation.

In the end, the sad reality is that most companies can well afford to pay you what is your due. They just choose not too. More money for them.

Don't let them get away with it.