Computer Technicians Sue CSC to Seek Overtime Pay
Computer Sciences Corp. was accused Wednesday of cheating thousands of computer technicians out of overtime pay in a lawsuit that could open the technology industry to the same class-action litigation that has forced millions of dollars in back wages from fast-food chains and retail outlets.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleges that the El Segundo company owes back pay to all systems administrators and other technical employees who have not received time-and-a-half compensation for work in excess of 40 hours a week.
The plaintiffs, two former CSC employees in Connecticut, seek to represent a proposed nationwide class of workers who earn as much as $50,000 or more installing and maintaining computer software and equipment for CSC clients.
A spokeswoman for the company, which employs about 92,000 people worldwide, said she could not discuss details of the suit.
“CSC has always strived to comply with all state and federal laws,” said the spokeswoman, Janet Herin. “Based on what we know at this time, we believe that we are compliant. We have not been served with this complaint and have no further comment at this time.”
The suit, which cites federal overtime law, is believed to be the most sweeping effort to win overtime pay for computer workers who do not write software or design systems, according to several labor lawyers. It is expected to test state and federal statutes adopted since 1996 that allow companies to avoid paying overtime to certain computer professionals.
In order to exempt an employee from the federal overtime mandate for computer professionals, companies must prove, among other things, that the worker in question earns at least $27.63 an hour (the equivalent of $57,500 a year) and is primarily engaged in software development or other independent, creative work.
“This could line up to be a very good fight,” said Frank Cronin, a labor lawyer for Snell & Wilner in Irvine, a firm that represents employers. “It will be watched by others in the industry because there are hundreds of other smaller firms that have people doing the same work. This could be a landmark case.... An awful lot of these jobs are right on that borderline.”
Class-action overtime lawsuits have swept through the restaurant and retail industries. More recently, banks have been the targets of such litigation, and insurance companies have taken some of the biggest hits.
California Chamber of Commerce Vice President Fred Main said “it was only a matter of time” before computer workers were the subject of overtime suits.
“They get paid a lot of money, so if you can get them out of the exemption for computer professionals, then you can make a significant amount on a class-action claim,” Main said. “It’s potentially far more lucrative than reclassifying the shift manager at a fast-food joint.”
Steve Zieff, a San Francisco lawyer who represents the computer workers, won a $90-million overtime verdict against Farmers Insurance on behalf of 2,400 claims adjusters. Zieff said he believed that alleged overtime violations in the information-technology industry went beyond CSC.
He said he and other lawyers on the case had received similar complaints from employees of other computer firms.
“It doesn’t matter what you call someone; it matters how you spend your time,” said James Finberg, a San Francisco attorney who has represented insurance adjusters and fast-food restaurant managers in overtime suits and is also representing the CSC plaintiffs.
“There is a specific exemption for people who are developing software, but that’s not what these people are doing,” he said. “They install software and answer questions.”
Times staff writer Marla Dickerson contributed to this report.
