Call Center Companies Lose Bid to Escape Wage Class Action

Three companies were unable to escape a wage class action by call center workers after a federal court in Washington said their liability and damages could be handled on a class-wide basis despite differences in the amount of time each worker might be owed pay for.

Xerox Business Services LLC, Livebridge Inc., and Affiliated Computer Services Inc. operate call centers at which agents respond to calls for third-party clients like phone companies, airlines, and hotels. The plaintiffs claim the companies’ “achievment based compensation” system violates the state’s minimum wage law. Under this system some activities, such as receiving inbound calls, ...