Thursday, December 17, 2009

AT&T sued for a BILLION dollars in a wage and hour dispute


MSNBC reports that multiple class actions have been filed against AT&T claiming that it misclassified as exempt all of its first-level managers and unlawfully deprived them of overtime pay. The lawsuits seek $1 BILLION (that’s nine zeros) in damages.

Rush Nigut’s Rush on Business has done an excellent job spotlighting the critical issues raised by these types of claims:

Naturally that kind of pie in the sky number might leave one to think, “It’s never going to happen to me, my business is much smaller and I won’t be a target.” But when you look at the fact that experts believe approximately 70 percent of businesses are out of compliance with wage and hour laws, you shouldn't be quick to shrug off the prospects of a process server knocking on your door. All it takes is one disgruntled employee … and you could find yourself in the middle of a wage and hour dispute.

Click on through to Rush’s post to read his six tips to avoid wage and hour lawsuits.

I’ve also written extensively on the dangers wage and hour compliance poses for employers:


Presented by Kohrman Jackson & Krantz, with offices in Cleveland and Columbus. For more information, contact Jon Hyman, a partner in our Labor & Employment group, at (216) 736-7226 or jth@kjk.com.