Service techs for GE, the folks who come to your home to repair washers, dryers and other GE appliances, have filed a class action lawsuit in Philadelphia seeking recovery of earned but unpaid overtime. The case claims that the service techs do substantial work every day off the clock and raises the basis question of when does the workday begin.
Here's the issue: GE provides the service techs with laptop computers and requires them at the beginning of each workday to set up their route, order parts aand answer emails. These tasks usually take about a half-hour per day but sometime take up to an hour, all of which is off the clock because GE does not consider the workday to start and the tech to start getting paid until they arrive at the first service call. In addition, GE has imposed daily service quotas which often compel the service techs to work through what is supposed to be their lunch break.
Source: philly.com
The key issue here and that on which the service techs claim turns is whether the the time spent setting up and planning the daily route, ordering parts and answering emails is integral to the service techs main duties. It seems to me that they are and the techs should be paid for this time.
Lexington, Kentucky overtime lawyer Robert Abell represents individuals and employees seeking recovery of overtime pay they have earned but not been paid; contact him at 859-254-7076.
