HSBC class action claims bank does not compensate employees for lunch breaks

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HSBC lunch breaks class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Kelly Ni filed a class action lawsuit against HSBC Bank USA N.A. 
• Why: Ni claims HSBC Bank forced its employees to work through 30-minute lunch breaks and then failed to compensate them. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court.   

HSBC Bank USA failed to compensate its workers for 30-minute lunch breaks it allegedly forced the employees to work through, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff Kelly Ni claims HSBC Bank told workers to clock out during their lunch breaks but required them to sit at their desks while they ate so they could still answer phone calls and respond to customer inquiries. 

Ni argues HSBC did not compensate these employees for their time in what she claims was a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). 

“Despite employees like Plaintiff never being permitted a free and clear meal break, Defendant never compensated Plaintiff and other employees for this time,” the HSBC class action states. 

Bank changed policies during pandemic that forced employees into ‘off-the-clock work,’ HSBC class action claims

In addition to allegedly failing to compensate workers for lunch breaks, HSBC also changed its policies during the pandemic that “forced employees to engage in off-the-clock work,” the HSBC class action alleges. 

“As clients did not want to travel in public to Defendant’s branch offices, Plaintiff was forced to work after hours to pursue leads and word of mouth referrals,” the HSBC class action states. 

In addition to allegedly violating the FLSA, Ni claims HSBC is guilty of violating New York Labor Law and applicable state wage and hour laws. 

Ni wants to represent a nationwide class of all non-exempt HSBC Bank workers who were employed as a bank teller or personal banker at any branch location either within the past six years or within the revelatory statutory period in their state. 

She demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of unpaid wages and overtime wages and statutory, liquidated and/or punitive damages for herself and all class members. 

In related HSBC news, last September, seven major banks, including HSBC Bank, asked a federal judge in New York for a summary judgment in a lawsuit claiming they rigged benchmark foreign exchange rates. 

Have you been underpaid by your employer? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by C.K. Lee and Anne Seelig of Lee Litigation Group, PLLC. 

The HSBC lunch breaks class action lawsuit is Ni, et al. v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Case No. 1:23-cv-00309, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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