FLSA Lawsuits: Call Center Wage Theft & Setup Time

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FLSA Lawsuits: Call Center Wage Theft & Setup Time

FLSA Lawsuits: Call Center Wage Theft & Setup Time

Under state and national law in the U.S., workers are entitled to be paid equitably and treated fairly by their employers. Unfortunately, some employers try to violate these policies and make money at the expense of the people that work for them.

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If the majority of your job duties were conducted over the phone in an in-person or remote call center and you were not paid for duties conducted before work, after work, and during breaks, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA sets legal standards for employment and provides serious penalties for wage and hour violations, including paying employees’ back wages and additional fines.

The legal team at Wallace Miller advocates for employees in civil lawsuits against their employers and fights to make sure people receive the compensation they are owed. Contact our office for a confidential and free consultation on your potential case.

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What is an FLSA Call Center Lawsuit? Understanding the Wage Violations Facing Call Center Employees

What is the FLSA?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets national standards for employees’ rights in the U.S. Created in 1938, it establishes laws including federal minimum wage, a standard 40-hour work week, overtime pay, child labor laws, requirements for recordkeeping, and protection from retaliation. The FLSA applies to full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and government, with some exemptions.

The FLSA also sets up a system through which employees who believe they have been treated unfairly can bring individual or collective actions against their employer. These lawsuits may be conducted through civil employment litigation or via the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

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State laws regulating workers’ rights and wage theft

Some state laws establish additional legal protections to workers in that state. For example, in Illinois, laws including the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA) and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL) set additional regulations, including a higher minimum wage than the federal standard. If state laws provide fewer protections than federal laws, the national standard typically takes precedence.

Who may be eligible for an FLSA call center lawsuit?

At a call center, agents typically manage telephone calls on behalf of a company or client. These employees’ primary duties include providing services over the phone and they are typically paid hourly. Call centers operate across a variety of industries, including medical, financial, telecommunications, e-commerce, and transportation sectors. Employees may work in-person, hybrid, or remotely.

Call center employees have a variety of job titles, including:

Customer care specialist
Customer service representative
Call service worker
Call center agent
Scheduling agent
Claims processor

How miscalculated hours add up

Alex is a full-time call center worker in Chicago, Illinois making minimum wage of $17.05 an hour. She is required to spend 10 minutes at the start of every day setting up her computer before clocking in, and 5 minutes shutting down her computer after her shift ends. Over time, these 15 minutes every day add up to:



$21.31 every week



$85.25 every month



$1,023 every year



$5,115 every five years



1.25 hours of unpaid work



5 hours of unpaid work



60 hours of unpaid work



300 hours of unpaid work

Alex may be entitled to payment for this time under the FLSA. Through a civil lawsuit, she may be able to recover damages and back wages.

Common wage violations against call center employees

The FLSA protects employees from many types of wage and hour violations, including withholding overtime, misclassifying workers as exempt from legal protections, and making illegal wage deductions. In call centers, the most frequent violation of the FLSA is failing to pay employees for eligible work conducted off the clock.

Under the FLSA, call center employees must be paid “from the beginning of the first principal activity of the workday to the end of the last principal activity of the workday.” This means that employees must be compensated for the full amount of time they spend on work-related activities, including work that occurs before the shift starts, during meal breaks, and after the shift ends. Employers are responsible for accurately keeping track of the full amount of time worked.

At some call centers, companies fail to pay their employees for work tasks completed before and after scheduled shifts as well as during meal breaks. This off-the-clock work is required for the completion of their job duties, but is not included in the tally of hours worked. As a result, the company benefits from that time even though the workers are not paid fairly for it.

What you need to know about call center lawsuits

Under state and federal law, call center employees can file lawsuits to seek compensation for unfair workplace practices and violations of their rights. These lawsuits may take the form of collective actions through the U.S. Department of Labor or be pursued through the civil justice system.

Unlike criminal lawsuits, civil lawsuits don’t involve jail time. Instead, they seek to compensate plaintiffs through damages, or financial awards that make up for the harm they have suffered.

In an FLSA call center lawsuit, these damages may include:

Unpaid wages
Back pay
Unpaid overtime
Double damages, or additional compensation for wage theft
Payments for additional harm caused by the company’s wrongdoing

Unpaid wages for login and logout process time at call centers

Pre-shift tasks that are essential to call center employees’ work may include:

Booting up a computer
Logging into computer applications
Logging into the company database
Setting up a VPN
Downloading necessary updates
Logging into the timekeeping system
Other tasks necessary to be “call ready” at the beginning of a shift

After their shift, employees may also be required to log out of applications and shut down their computers, taking up more off-the-clock time.

Federal laws governing meal breaks establish that workers may not conduct work activities while on break. Some call center employers require workers to complete these pre- and post-shift activities during meal breaks, violating their legal rights.

A few minutes of unpaid work every day can add up quickly. Over months and years, what may seem like a minor issue can become a substantial loss to many call center employees. In these situations, employees are entitled to seek back pay and other compensation for unpaid wages.

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Q&A

Am I eligible for an FLSA wage theft lawsuit as a call center employee?

You may be eligible for an FLSA lawsuit if your employer does not pay you for necessary work duties while working at a call center. This applies to both in-person call center employees and employees who work remotely. Our legal team can help you assess your situation and determine whether you may have a case.

What is the FLSA?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the national standards for U.S. employment law. It establishes workers’ rights, including child labor laws, minimum wage, and overtime pay, and helps employees seek justice if their rights are violated.

If I join the lawsuit, can the company retaliate against me?

No, it is illegal for your employer to retaliate against you for filing a lawsuit under the FLSA. Under federal law, employers may not demote, harass, fire, or otherwise discriminate against any employee for exercising their legal rights. If an employer retaliates against you, including by making threats, cutting hours, reducing pay or benefits, or firing you, they can face additional legal consequences.

How much does filing a call center lawsuit cost?

Wallace Miller operates under a contingency fee model. This means that there are no out-of-pocket fees for our clients–since our costs come out of settlements and verdicts, we only get paid if you do.

How long do I have to file a call center lawsuit?

The timeline for filing a lawsuit is determined by the statute of limitations. The FLSA’s statute of limitations is typically two or three years. You may have other wage and hour cases with different statutes of limitations that vary by state. An experienced attorney can help you assess your case and determine how long you have to file.

Contact Us

The team at Wallace Miller fights on behalf of employees and consumers to make sure that their rights are respected. If you work at a call center and think your employer may have violated the FLSA, reach out to our team for a confidential and free case review.

The system of federal and state laws governing employee rights is complicated. Our dedicated employment attorneys can help you determine if you’re owed unpaid wages, inform you about your legal rights, and determine the best path forward.

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