CWA Call Center Activists Reach $170,000 Overtime Settlement With General Dynamics Information Techn

[Omaha Steve]

August 17, 2019 NH Labor News
Attorneys for federal contract call center workers and GDIT reach a settlement over allegations that workers were not paid for all hours worked

General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) agreed to pay $170,000 to settle Fair Labor Standards Act claims brought by a number of Communications Workers of America (CWA) call center activists and others alleging that the company failed to pay proper overtime wages to customer service representatives at its call centers. The proposed settlement, if approved by the judge, would result in the 182 former GDIT employees who joined the lawsuit splitting $80,000 in back wages. GDIT sold its federal call center business to Maximus, Inc. in November 2018.

The federal lawsuit, Freeman v. General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., 8:18-cv-00855, was filed on April 10, 2018 after a number of GDIT call center workers reported to CWA that they believed the company had not properly tracked and compensated them for all hours worked. According to the settlement approval motion filed in the Middle District of Florida on August 8, 2019, the plaintiffs alleged they had routinely performed preliminary work tasks that were not included in the company’s “on-the-clock” timekeeping system. These tasks include logging into phones and computers, checking and responding to emails, and coordinating and scheduling calls and meetings. The proposed settlement did not include an admission of liability on the part of the company.

“This proposed settlement shows that when we come together and organize, we can win,” said Adrian Powe, a Hattiesburg, Mississippi call center worker and a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “We will be continuing our fight to hold Maximus, our new employer, accountable. We won’t stop until they meet with us about classifying the work we do properly under the Service Contract Act and remaining neutral to our efforts to form a union. This is only the beginning of our efforts to join together to improve working conditions.”

FULL story: https://nhlabornews.com/2019/08/cwa-call-center-activists-reach-170000-overtime-settlement-with-general-dynamics-information-technology/

NH Labor News
The New Hampshire Labor News is a group of NH Workers who believe that we need to protect ourselves against the attacks on workers. We are proud union members who are working to preserve the middle class. The NHLN talks mostly about news and politics from NH. We also talk about national issues that effect working men and women here in the Granite State.