This is a collective and class action case on behalf of customer service representatives for unpaid boot up/log in and log off/boot down time at Customer Connexx call centers.
Because employees were required to boot up/log in and log off/boot down their computer without pay, Plaintiff was not paid all wages due under federal and Nevada wage and hour laws.
Because employees weren’t paid for their boot up/log in and log off/boot downtime they were also not paid overtime premium compensation of 1 ½ times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 8 in a workday or over 40 hours in a workweek.
The federal district court granted conditional certification of the class and allowed notice to be mailed to all current and former employees who were employed by Customer Connexx, at any time from January 3, 2015, to the present. The Notice went out in summer 2019 explaining how to join the lawsuit. Plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint substituting named Plaintiff Curley with two new named Plaintiffs.
After the close of discovery, the Parties filed several motions, including Defendants’ motion to decertify the class and for summary judgment. The federal District Court denied Defendants’ motion to decertify the class under the FLSA but did grant Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment, holding that the employees’ time booting up and down their computers was non-compensable pursuant to the FLSA. Accordingly, because the Court dismissed the federal law portion of the lawsuit, the Court remanded the state law claims back to state court. Plaintiffs’ Rule 23 motion for the state law claims was also denied without prejudice for further proceedings in the state court. Plaintiffs’ filed a motion for the Court to reconsider its Order, which was denied as well. On September 14, 2021, Plaintiffs appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
UPDATE
On October 24, 2022, the Ninth Circuit published its opinion in favor of Plaintiffs reversing the federal District Court’s decision and clarifying that turning on computers is an integral and indispensable part of Customer Connexx employees’ job duties and is therefore compensable under the FLSA. The case has been remanded to the federal District Court for further proceedings.
For further information, view the Ninth Circuit’s opinion here and related news articles here.
If you have worked as a call center employee and were not paid for boot up/log in time and/or boot down/log off time, please contact Thierman Buck, LLP immediately to discuss your rights.
Attached: Order
