Recently, customer service representatives employed by the Minacs Group at a call center in Farmington Hills, Michigan sought certification to bring their wage and hour claims as a collective action. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law that mandates minimum wage and overtime requirements.
Minacs Group Customer Service Reps Required to Work Off-the-Clock
In this particular case, the customer service representatives alleged that they were required to perform pre- and post-shift work activities while off-the-clock. This, they argued, resulted in a violation of the FLSA. Specifically, these activities included loading and shutting computer applications before and after they clocked-in or out of their timekeeping system.
Court Finds Sufficient Evidence to Move Lawsuit Forward
Regarding whether the customer service representatives were similarly situated, Judge Nancy Edmunds of the District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan stated “[w]hile the record here is not overwhelming, the Court finds it sufficient to meet the fairly lenient standard for demonstrating, in the pre-discovery phase of this case, that Plaintiff and other similarly-situated Representatives employed at Defendant’s Farmington Hills call center were deprived of compensation mandated under the FLSA as a result of common corporate policies and procedures adopted by Defendant.”
The full opinion granting certification can be obtained by clicking here.