A recently filed class action lawsuit accuses business process outsourcing provider Sitel Worldwide of failing to pay overtime to its home-based customer care agents, a violation of state and federal wage and hour laws.
According to the complaint, Sitel classifies its home-based customer care agents as non-exempt employees, meaning that they are entitled to overtime pay for any time in excess of 40 hours per week. The plaintiffs, employed through the Sitel Work@Home Solutions program, claim that the company requires them to perform a number of “off the clock” activities that would constitute overtime hours, yet only pays them for the time they are on the telephone and available to accept calls.
The alleged unpaid time includes starting and logging into Sitel computer programs and applications at the beginning of the workday, and logging out of and shutting down those programs and applications at the day’s end – anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes of daily work for which they are not compensated.
The complaint also alleges that agents routinely become disconnected from Sitel’s computer systems or to experience technical issues with the programs and applications necessary for their jobs. According to the complaint, on those occasions the agents are required to call Sitel’s technical support personnel, but the time spent on those calls is not compensated, which can total 30 minutes or more for each disruption.
Finally, the complaint alleges that the home-based customer care agents are required to perform work duties including logging into and out of computer programs during their unpaid lunch periods, but are not paid for that work.
Because of Sitel’s failure to properly pay overtime to its home-based customer care agents, Sommers Schwartz filed a class action lawsuit against the company on behalf of all current and former hourly home-based customer care agents who worked for Sitel Worldwide at any time during the last three years. The suit seeks to recover all unpaid wages and overtime hours as well as liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs.
If you are or were employed through the Sitel Work@Home Solutions program as a home-based customer care agent and suspect that you were wrongfully denied wages and overtime pay, please contact the attorneys in Sommers Schwartz’s Employment Litigation Group today!
Kevin J. Stoops
Kevin Stoops is an experienced trial attorney who appears frequently in Michigan state courts and federal courts across the United States, representing clients in complex business litigation. He has vast experience and a track record of successful outcomes high-dollar matters involving trade secret, business tort, intellectual property, executive employment, and class action claims.
