Benefits February 19, 2008

EDS Info Systems Workers Suing for Overtime

February 19, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A group of six current and former workers at computer-servicing giant EDS is suing the firm for failing to pay overtime.
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According to the Detroit Free Press, the lawsuit alleges that EDS improperly labeled its technical service workers as exempt to strip them of their overtime protections. If certified a class action, potentially thousands of workers could be covered.

Travis Jacobsen, a spokesman at EDS, said the company was committed to complying with all applicable labor laws, including wage and hour laws, the news report said. “In instances where we’ve learned that an employee has been misclassified, we’ve taken action to promptly correct the situation,” he said.

Maureen Crane, an attorney for the plaintiffs with the Royal Oak firm Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, Rivers & Golden, said the employees did not do any work that could be considered managerial, but performed typical “help desk”-type services.

The EDS case is similar to a lawsuit that computer giant IBM settled with its technical service workers in November 2006, paying $65 million to about 37,000 workers and their attorneys (See Suit: IBM Techs Didn’t Get Proper OT ).

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