AT&T faces class action lawsuit

A federal judge in Georgia recently approved a class action lawsuit against telecommunications giant AT&T by field managers working for its BellSouth unit.

The suit alleges that the company misclassified the employment status of workers in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina and Kentucky, exempting them from overtime regulations set by the Fair Labor Standards Act and state legislation.

"Although their job title includes the term 'manager,' these individuals manage nothing and have no management responsibilities," said Janette Wipper, co-lead counsel. "The company uses this job title merely as a means to extract from these employees more hours of work without providing them any additional compensation."

In addition to the alleged overtime infractions, AT&T is also being sued for not providing rest and meal breaks to its workers, as well as failing to accurately record hours of employee attendance.

Elsewhere in the country, AT&T's Northern California division recently faced a class action lawsuit of its own after being accused of violating the state's labor code by misclassifying at-home virtual call center workers to avoid wage and hour costs.