AT&T Faces California Labor Lawsuit
The lawsuit (Walton v. AT&T Inc., Case No. 2:15-cv-03716, in the US District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division) was filed on behalf of AT&T training specialists and delivery workers in California and across the US. Plaintiffs allege they were misclassified as exempt from overtime pay and therefore were denied overtime wages that they were entitled to.
“Pursuant to a centralized, company-wide policy, pattern, and/or practice, AT&T has unlawfully classified Plaintiff and other Training Specialists as exempt from overtime payments under federal and state laws, despite the fact that they should have been classified as nonexempt,” the lawsuit alleges (as found in court documents). As such, training specialists were not paid for all hours worked, including time above 40 hours in a week. The plaintiff alleges AT&T
“intentionally, willfully, repeatedly engaged in a policy, pattern, and/or practice of violating the FLSA.”
Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that AT&T did not keep accurate work records.
The named plaintiff, Wendell Walton, alleges he was employed by AT&T from July 2000 through the present and worked as a Senior Training Manager Design. Despite regularly working more than 40 hours in a workweek, Walton claims he was not paid for any hours in excess of 40.
The lawsuit refers to AT&T’s practices as “widespread, repeated, and consistent.” Plaintiffs seek damages, including liquidated damages, a declaratory judgment that the practices are unlawful, and attorneys’ fees and costs.
Under state and federal law, all non-exempt employees must be paid for overtime hours worked. Employees who are eligible for overtime pay but are misclassified as exempt are able to file a lawsuit to recover unpaid wages.
According to The Associated Press (4/28/15), AT&T also faces a $100 million discrimination lawsuit after a president at the company was found to have been using his work phone to send racist texts.
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