CAMDEN, N.J. –Technicians for General Electric Co. were granted conditional certification for their collective action overtime claim against the company in New Jersey federal court recently. The current and former technicians claim the company required them to work off the clock without pay before their shifts in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). With the conditional certification, the technicians can move forward with their claims.
The Technicians’ Claims
Seven General Electric technicians filed the now consolidated collective lawsuit in Delaware, Georgia, Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania in January 2014. The technicians claim they were required to begin working before they clocked in when they had to log onto their computers before their first service call. The technicians would log into the company’s systems to collect the job assignments for the day and to respond to emails before heading out to their first call, which is when they would clock-in. They also spent time traveling to and from jobs without compensation. Each of these activities was performed off the clock and could have potentially resulted in overtime wages and, at the very least, resulted in denied straight time wages for the technicians.
The technicians also claim the current policies and practices for technicians essentially prevent them from taking meal breaks and also require post-shift work like servicing their company vehicles. And the technicians allege they were intimidated by their supervisors when they attempted to accurately record the hours they worked on their timesheets.
GE’s Response
General Electric claims the technicians were not required to do any of the off the clock work. However, according to the judge’s conditional certification ruling, even if they were not technically required to log in before their first call, the technicians would have to do some work prior to their first service call in order to determine where that call will take place. The court was not convinced that the technician would be able to determine the location of the service call or if the customer was home, if they did not begin working prior to their first service call.
The Certification
This certification is only for the current and former technicians in Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Currently 100 potential class members have opted into the collective action. The federal judge who granted the conditional certification found that the technicians in the proposed collective action were subject to essentially the same policies at the time of the alleged violations.
If your employer requires you to begin working before you have clocked in for your shift, you may have a claim for unpaid wages and potentially overtime wages. Our experienced team of overtime pay lawyers can evaluate your situation and discuss your options today at (855) 754-2795. Or you can complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our knowledgeable legal team will assess your case. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.