ALBANY, N.Y. — Matthew Bender & Co., a unit of LexisNexis, is the subject of a wage and overtime pay lawsuit filed in New York federal court in late November 2014. The lawsuit, brought by three employees, alleges Matthew Bender, one of the nation’s largest law book publishers, failed to pay its employees for all of the hours they worked in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York state labor laws. The employees claim the alleged overtime violations are ongoing and date back to 2008.
The Overtime Claim
Pamela Doyle, Pamela Rector, and Jacqueline Stewart filed their lawsuit just one month before Matthew Bender intended to close the office in Albany where the plaintiffs worked. The three employees began working for Matthew Bender performing order processing tasks. They claim that prior to 2008 these order processing tasks were subject to overtime pay requirements.
In 2008, however, the three employees allege the company gave them a new job title. Their supervisor informed them because of their new job title, they were no longer entitled to overtime wages. But, according to their claim, their job assignments and responsibilities did not change, only the job title. As a result of the new job title and the overtime exemption, the plaintiffs claim they were regularly working between 8 to 10 hours of overtime without compensation. The three employees believe they had been misclassified when their job titles were changed.
The three plaintiffs allege the company had a policy of denying overtime in an effort to minimize labor costs and knowingly violated state and federal wage laws. When the plaintiffs complained to the company in 2013, Matthew Bender admitted to mistakenly classifying their positions as exempt from overtime and compensated them for some of the overtime they had worked. But that compensation was at a rate of half of their regular rate, not the required one and a half times the regular rate.
Overtime and Job Titles
Employers have the right to create virtually any job title they want to fit their organizational structure and company needs. For this reason, along with others, the FLSA requires employers to evaluate each job position and its associated responsibilities, not job title, when determining overtime eligibility or overtime exemptions. The courts have long recognized that job titles do not automatically determine overtime classification. For instance, a supervisor job title at one company may carry responsibilities and authority associated with overtime exemptions, while that same job title at a different company is used to designate seniority in a position, but carries no actual supervisory responsibilities or authority.
As a general rule, overtime is based on an employee’s decision making authority, responsibilities, and the tasks they regularly perform. If you believe your employer has misclassified you as exempt from overtime based on your job title, but not your job responsibilities, call our experienced team of overtime pay lawyers to discuss your options today at (855) 754-2795. Or our knowledgeable legal team can evaluate your situation when you complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.