GREENSBORO, N.C. — A call center employee in St. Louis, Missouri, filed a proposed class action wage and overtime pay lawsuit in North Carolina federal court recently. The customer service representative claims National General Insurance Co., formerly GMAC Insurance, improperly calculated the number of hours their employees worked resulting in lost wages and denied overtime in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Missouri state law. The St. Louis call center employee technically worked for National General Management Corp. and shortly after National General Insurance responded to the lawsuit, the lawsuit was amended to include both companies as joint employers.
Call Center Claim
Rhonda Jackson, a National General call center employee since January 2004, is seeking to represent employees in five call centers across the country. Jackson is seeking back wages and unpaid overtime compensation for herself and other similarly situated customer service representatives. In her lawsuit, Jackson claims the auto insurance underwriting company failed to pay its employees for time spent booting up their computer and their program, preparing for their shift, shutting down their computers, and reading company communications. All of these activities were allegedly off the clock and unpaid. Jackson believes the company willfully failed to include the time spent performing work-related tasks before and after their scheduled shifts.
If National General is found to have willfully violated the FLSA, the call center employees could seek and receive up to three years of back wages. If not, the potential class members will be limited to two years at most. Jackson is currently the only plaintiff, however, there are close to 260 current employees at the five call centers listed in the lawsuit who could join in the class action. But that number does not include former employees or customer service representatives at the call center locations not listed in the class action.
Pre-shift and Post-shift Work
One of the arguments National General is making in an attempt to end the lawsuit is that Jackson should not be allowed to continue with the lawsuit because she knew that the pre- and post-shift work would not be compensated and still continued to not only work the scheduled shifts, but the necessary work before and after. If pre- or post-shift work is “integral and indispensable” to the task the employee was hired to perform, then the employer is likely required to compensate the employee for the time they spend on the activities. The requirement will usually apply regardless of whether the employee is aware the employer does not intend to compensate them for the time.
Employers should be aware of the time requirements and tasks associate with your work. If pre- or post- shift activities are necessary, your employer should be compensating you for your time; this includes earned overtime wages. Our knowledgeable team of overtime pay lawyers can evaluate your situation and discuss your options today at (855) 754-2795. 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.