Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. Obtains Important Ruling from the Court in Collective Action Filed Against International Business Machines for Violations of the FLSA

Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. Obtains Important Ruling from the Court in Collective Action Filed Against International Business Machines for Violations of the FLSA

On August 17, 2010, Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. filed a collective action on behalf of former employees of an International Business Machines (“IBM”) call center located in Dallas, Texas.  The lawsuit, pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleges that IBM has violated Section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).  Plaintiffs allege IBM’s policy has been, and is, to pay Call Center Employees, including plaintiffs, only for their scheduled hours, which is normally an eight hour shift.  Plaintiffs, and other Call Center Employees, however, are required to arrive at work 10-15 minutes prior to the start of their regular shift to perform tasks necessary for their positions, such as fully booting computers and ensuring that all relevant applications are loaded.  In addition, Call Center Employees are required to complete all customer calls before they can leave work, even if their shift has ended, and are required to work during meal and rest breaks if necessary, to complete customer calls.  As a consequence, Call Center Employees routinely work in excess of forty (40) hours per week without receiving Overtime Compensation.

On August 23, 2011, the Honorable Jorge A. Solis of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that based on the facts provided in the record, the parties briefing, and the applicable law, plaintiffs met their burden and established  a conditional class of similarly situated employees.  As a result, Judge Solis conditionally certified a class of all call center representatives in the Dallas, Texas office who have worked for IBM at any time in the last three years.