Bank of America Sued for Failing to Pay OT

In a lawsuit filed in the Federal Court in Kansas City, Kansas, employees of Bank of America Corp. sued the company.
Bank of America Sued for Failing to Pay OT
A man stands in a Bank of America ATM branch in New York City. Bank of America is the defendant in a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company failed to pay proper overtime wages in several jurisdictions. ( Mario Tama/Getty Images)
6/6/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/BOA83150508.jpg" alt="A man stands in a Bank of America ATM branch in New York City. Bank of America is the defendant in a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company failed to pay proper overtime wages in several jurisdictions.  ( Mario Tama/Getty Images)" title="A man stands in a Bank of America ATM branch in New York City. Bank of America is the defendant in a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company failed to pay proper overtime wages in several jurisdictions.  ( Mario Tama/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1818981"/></a>
A man stands in a Bank of America ATM branch in New York City. Bank of America is the defendant in a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company failed to pay proper overtime wages in several jurisdictions.  ( Mario Tama/Getty Images)
NEW YORK—In a lawsuit filed in the Federal Court in Kansas City, Kansas, employees of Bank of America Corp. (BAC) have sued the company for allegedly failing to pay mandatory overtime and other wages in several states.

The lawsuit filed last Friday consolidates several other ongoing lawsuits filed on behalf of employees in BAC retail branches, call centers, and other locations in Florida, California, Texas, and other states.

“[BAC’s] policy and practice is to deny earned wages, including overtime pay, to its nonexempt hourly employees at its retail branch and call center facilities throughout the country,” according to the 44-page filing.

In the lawsuit, workers accused the bank of failing to abide by the federal Fair Labor Standards Acts and other state wage laws. In some cases, according to reports, BAC offering compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, and sometimes told employees to book less time than actually worked, to avoid paying overtime.

The lawsuit could reportedly cover up to 180,000 workers and lead to recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars, if successful. So far, BAC has said that it would vigorously defend the company against the allegations.

“Especially in this time of economic crisis, companies have an obligation to fairly compensate employees for all the hours that they work, as stated by federal law,” said Amanda Farahany of Barrett & Farahany LLP, which filed a similar class-action lawsuit last year in Atlanta.

As of last quarter ending March 31, BAC is one of the largest employers in the United States and employs 283,914 people worldwide.