PNC Bank pays $2.75M to settle two class action suits for unpaid time

PNC Bank and its parent company were hit with two class action suits for unpaid time in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state laws in 2019. In late January 2020, they agreed to settle the combined cases for $2.75 million, which included over $900,000 in attorneys' fees and costs. The employees who formed the two classes—one group in Michigan and the other in Pennsylvania—alleged PNC had required them to undertake various work-related tasks off-the-clock for which they should have received compensation. The cases and settlement highlight the importance of ensuring employees are accurately capturing and receiving compensation for all of the time they work, as well as the significant financial risks employers face for seemingly de minimis (trivial) wage and hour violations.

Facts

In February 2019, a group of customer service representatives (CSRs) in Kalamazoo, Michigan, led by Casey Minor filed a class action against PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. They alleged they were required to perform unpaid overtime while breaking for lunch, as well as before and after their scheduled shifts. The unpaid work involved various tasks, including turning on and shutting off their work computers and signing into the computer software applications and programs essential and mandatory for carrying out their responsibilities.