Named plaintiff Luis Bertot filed a proposed Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) class action against Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC and one of its human resources executives on Sept. 10. The complaint accuses the television provider of willfully and intentionally violating the FLSA by misclassifying human resource division employees as exempt from overtime pay and failing to pay them for hours worked in excess of 40 per week.
The Southern District of Florida lawsuit states that Comcast is a foreign limited liability company that conducts business in the district. Allegedly, the plaintiff began work for Comcast in 2014 in a salaried role as a human resources manager. He earned two pay raises over time and currently makes about $109,600 per year, the filing said.
According to the complaint, the named plaintiff averaged approximately 17 hours of uncompensated overtime each workweek. His direct boss reportedly required him to “primarily, if not exclusively, [perform] non-exempt work under [] close supervision,” including responding to text messages and emails in the evening and early morning hours.
The named plaintiff argues that he is a non-exempt employee because he performed “routine work that did not involve him exercising independent judgment and discretion on matters of significance.” Furthermore, he allegedly did not evaluate other employees’ performance for purposes of promotion, did not prepare company policies, and did not have the authority to adjust subordinate hours or pay, hire or fire anyone, or discipline employees. The complaint also argues that the named plaintiff’s immediate supervisor “was an extreme micromanager who monitored and oversaw virtually everything that he did,” thus, he lacked the autonomy of an overtime-exempt employee under the FLSA.
The named plaintiff brings the lawsuit “on behalf of employees who performed similar functions for Defendants, were subjected to Defendants’ unlawful pay practices and policies, and who worked for Defendants at any point in the three years preceding the date the instant action…” For Comcast’s supposed offenses, the plaintiff seeks FLSA damages and an award of its attorneys’ fees and costs.
The plaintiff is represented by BT Law Group, PLLC.