It looks like UPS is getting sued again for forcing employees to work on their own time. UPS has paid out millions of dollars over the years to drivers who work through their lunch hours and then retire or quit and sue for lost wages. Now a fed up account rep has filed suit and is seeking class action status. UPS pushes its people very hard and sometimes they push back. I’m not surprised, are you?
A California woman has sued United Parcel Service Inc., claiming the Atlanta-based shipping giant has withheld some $100 million in overtime wages from account managers it employs across the country.
The suit, filed in federal court in San Diego by Sanford Wittels & Heisler LLP on behalf of UPS account manager Laura Meza, seeks class action.
The law firm said UPS account managers go door-to-door to businesses throughout the country to promote UPS’ portfolio of delivery services. UPS requires these employees to work up to 60 hours a week but claims that these workers do not deserve to get overtime pay.
The suit alleges UPS (NYSE: UPS) does not pay its account managers overtime wages for work in excess of 40 hours a week and eight hours a day; fails to provide these workers with mandatory meal periods and rest breaks; and fails to keep accurate records of the hours these employees work.
“My day starts at 6 a.m., when I have to go to the office to get my daily manifest lists and respond to calls and e-mails from customers and supervisors,” Meza said in a news release. “From 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., I’m out in the field pitching UPS products to customers. When I finally come home, I have to keep responding to work e-mails. And even on weekends, vacations and sick days, I’m routinely expected to do paperwork, calls and e-mails for work. That’s the grinding routine that UPS requires of all of us account managers.”
The suit asks that UPS be forced to pay Meza and other account managers $100 million in total unpaid wages, including all damages permitted by California and federal wage and hour laws.
Triangle Business Journal