Sprint California Lawsuit Alleges Workers Not Paid Properly

San Francisco, CA A California labor lawsuit filed by workers against Sprint Nextel Corp alleges employees were not properly paid for all hours worked. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges employees were not paid for time spent on activities required before clocking in, such as starting computers, in violation of labor laws. The lawsuit also alleges violations of overtime pay laws.

According to court documents filed in the lawsuit - Guilbaud et al v. Sprint Nextel Corp, case number CV 13 4357 - the lawsuit was filed in September 2013 by hourly employees at Sprint retail stores, selling Sprint’s products and services.

“Defendants have deprived Plaintiffs and the other Sprint Employees of wages by not paying the Sprint employees for all hours worked and not paying them premium wages for overtime hours worked,” court documents state. The plaintiffs allege that the work they do prior to clocking in means they regularly work more than 40 hours in a week or eight hours in a day but are not paid overtime for that additional time.

Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges, “Sprint intentionally and willfully failed to pay the minimum statutory overtime wages owed to Plaintiff and the other class members due to a miscalculation of the ‘regular rate.’” Plaintiffs also claim that they were not provided with an itemized statement of their wages.

One of the highly contested areas of labor law is that of activities that are not paid by an employer but considered necessary to performing a job. In some industries, this includes the putting on and taking off of uniforms or protective gear. In other industries - such as theme parks - this involves workers walking to and from their vehicles in full uniform and answering all questions from park guests, even though this occurs either before the employee has clocked in or after he or she has clocked out from the shift.

In still other industries, such as call centers, employees might be required to log on to or off of complicated databases and computer or phone systems at the start or end of their shift, sometimes without being paid for the time spent in those activities. Meanwhile, retail and other employees allege that they should be paid for time spent waiting after a shift for security checks, designed to prevent employee theft.

The time spent in such activities can add up for workers. Even 10 minutes before or after a shift can add up over the course of a year and can, if that work is done above an eight-hour day or 40-hour week, mean missed overtime.