Wayfair class action alleges company fails to pay for pre-, post-shift activities

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Wayfair class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiffs Kayla Counts, Kaylynn Major and Erica Dujardin filed a class action lawsuit against Wayfair LLC.
• Why: Wayfair allegedly failed to pay customer service representatives for the time required to log in to necessary computer programs before their shift start time.
• Where: The Wayfair class action lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts federal court.

Wayfair LLC violates the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and several state laws by failing to pay employees for all of the time they worked, according to a class action lawsuit filed July 28 in Massachusetts federal court.

Plaintiffs Kayla Counts, Kaylynn Major and Erica Dujardin were each employed by Wayfair as remote customer service representatives in their respective home states of South Carolina, Oregon and Maine.

Their positions were hourly, non-exempt positions that regularly required the Wayfair employees to work at least 40 hours per workweek, the Wayfair class action lawsuit explains. 

Wayfair’s policy for remote customer service representatives requires them to have their computer networks, software programs and applications open and ready at the time of their scheduled shift, the plaintiffs say.

They claim Wayfair instructs them to include only the time they are fully prepared to field calls during their shift, and to exclude the time spent logging in to the necessary programs. Wayfair employees are instructed to clock in as close as possible to their scheduled shift start time, but not after the start of their shift, the plaintiffs say.

However, the plaintiffs claim Wayfair employees often need an average of 10 to 15 minutes to log in to the necessary programs prior to the start of their shift. If they experience technical difficulties, it can take more than 30 minutes to log in, the Wayfair class action lawsuit says.

Wayfair class action seeks payment of unpaid wages

The U.S. Department of Labor has recognized call center employees are often subject to violations of the FLSA, including the employer’s refusal to pay for all principal activities of the workday, such as necessary pre- and post-shift activities like logging into all necessary computer programs.

The plaintiffs filed the Wayfair class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a proposed class of current and former customer service representatives employed by Wayfair in the last three years. They are seeking an award of unpaid wages, liquidated damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, attorneys’ fees and other damages.

Wayfair was recently hit with a class action lawsuit alleging its website is not accessible to blind and visually-impaired users in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

What do you think about the Wayfair employees’ allegations? Tell us about it in the comments!

The plaintiffs are represented by Kelsey Raycroft Rose and Andrew R. Frisch of Morgan & Morgan PA, Charles R. Ash IV of Ash Law PLLC and Oscar Rodriguez of Hooper Hathaway PC.

The Wayfair employees class action lawsuit is Kayla Counts, et al. v. Wayfair LLC, Case No. 1:23-cv-11706, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Pepsi class action claims company collected employee’s biometric data without consent
• Nurses at UPMC-owned facilities may have experienced unlawful conditions
• UPS reaches tentative contract deal with workers
• Biden admin reveals rules to help employers comply with mental health, substance abuse coverage laws