Another Worker Misclassification Lawsuit Looms Over Verizon
A New York subsidiary of Verizon Communications Inc. is facing another potential lawsuit from workers who claim the company purposely misclassified them to avoid paying overtime.
It is reportedly the third misclassification suit filed against Verizon New York in the past two years.
According to Law360 (subscription required), the plaintiff in the case, a logistics division employee, claims he has been improperly categorized as a supervisor with Verizon New York since 1993, although he has never managed any other employees. He asserts the company intentionally misclassified him and various other logistics division workers, never paying them for possibly hundreds of hours in overtime.
The complaint further alleges that Verizon New York paid and treated all its logistic division supervisors this way and that the company did not provide accurate wage statements, as required by the New York Labor Law.
To date, at least two other Verizon New York employees have joined the proposed class action.
The plaintiffs are seeking to collect unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law. The plaintiffs are also asking for an injunction to prevent Verizon from misclassifying future workers, a prohibition on retaliation, and other damages.
Misclassifying employees to avoid paying overtime compensation is wage theft and, unfortunately, a common practice in the workplace. If you suspect wage theft where you work, please contact the attorneys in Sommers Schwartz’s Employment Litigation Group today. We’re here to help.
Jason Thompson is a nationally board certified trial attorney and co-chairs Sommers Schwartz’s Complex Litigation Department. He has a formidable breadth of litigation experience, including class action and multidistrict litigation (MDL), and practices nationwide in both state and federal courts.