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Home-Based Agents File Class-Action Suit against AT&T

By Tracey E. Schelmetic, TMCnet Contributor

AT&T (News - Alert) in Northern California is in a bit of trouble with its home-based call center agents.

California employment law attorneys at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik have been retained to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of the virtual agents against the telecom giant. The home-based agents have alleged that AT&T has violated their rights under the California Labor Code. The class action lawsuit against AT&T for Labor Code violations was filed on March 28, 2011 in the Northern District of California, entitled Perry v. AT&T and Arise, Case No. CV111498JCS (the paperwork can be viewed here.)

According to the complaint, AT&T hired the at-home call center employees to provide billing and technical support for AT&T customers. The employees allege that AT&T devised an illegal scheme of mislabeling these virtual at-home call center employees as “independent contractors” as a way of dodging workers' compensation costs as well as paying state and/or federal taxes, said the release.

The home-based agents also allege that AT&T intentionally misclassified them as independent contractors in order to get around wage and hour requirements, which is a direct violation of California employment laws. While employers in California must comply with minimum wage rules, lunch break requirements and overtime laws protect employees, those laws do not apply to independent contractors.

The AT&T overtime class action lawsuit alleges that the wireless provider mislabeled at-home call center employees because these workers are required to perform work subject to AT&T’s control. AT&T has the authority to exercise complete control over the work performed and the manner in which the work is performed by these at-home call center employees. Further, AT&T controls the at-home virtual call center employees’ work schedule and hours, according to the complaint.

Many companies hire home-based agents to save on facility costs (there is no need to put a roof over their heads, heat and cool them and provide parking and other facilities for them). While many companies hire the agents as full employees, some companies use them as independent contractors.