Bank of America is facing a class action lawsuit that claims it underpaid hourly workers by refusing to compensate them for time spent at the beginning of the day logging into their workstations.
The days of the punch card are long gone for most major employers. Many jobs — especially those that deal with sensitive digital information — require workers to use multi-factor authentication, VPNs, and open encrypted drives before they can even start work.
According to the new lawsuit, some Bank of America business analysts had to complete all of their log-in duties before they could even access their timecards to clock-in, according to Techspot.
The lawsuit claims that the log-in duties can take an employee up to a half hour in the morning and a few minutes after their lunch breaks, and that none of the time was compensated.
The filing points to U.S. Department of Labor guidelines which clarified in 2008 that computer start-up tasks should be compensated in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, so long as those tasks are integral to the employee's work activities.
The lawsuit argues that Bank of America workers preparing their digital office for the day is a prerequisite for them fulfilling their other daily duties, and that Bank of America should pay them for that time.
Tava Martin, the former employee who is bringing the lawsuit against Bank of America, is asking for back pay and damages for herself and the "hundreds" of other business analysts in situations similar to hers.
Her legal team is reportedly pursuing both class and collective action status, which would let them represent a broader range of clients.
Martin estimates that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of workers who have faced similar issues related to workplace timekeeping.
The Independent has requested comment from Bank of America.
