Nissan, Infiniti piece-rate compensation lawsuit investigation

Nissan wage violations: Who’s affected?

Did you work for a Nissan or Infiniti dealership at any point from 2021 to the present? Were you paid piece-rate compensation?

Nissan employees who are paid on a piece-rate basis may be compensated less than minimum wage in violation of state and federal labor laws. According to allegations in a class action lawsuit, Nissan willfully misuses the flat-rate pay system to withhold wages from its technicians for non-flagged hours such as prep and clean up.

Florida, Georgia and Alabama workers who worked for a Nissan or Infiniti dealership at any point from January 2021 to the present could have a legal claim if they were not compensated appropriately under state labor laws. A Nissan piece-rate class action lawsuit could help recover compensation for unpaid minimum wage and more.

What is piece-rate compensation?

Piece-rate compensation is a type of pay in which employers pay their workers based on the item or unit of work completed opposed to paying them at an hourly rate or yearly salary. Although piece-rate compensation is legal, businesses must still comply with minimum wage requirements when paying workers. This means that, based on tracked hours and the number of completed tasks, workers must be paid the equivalent of minimum wage when their hourly rate is calculated.

What are my rights under state labor laws?

All employees in the United States are protected by federal labor laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which requires businesses to pay employees at least $7.25 per hour. However, employees are also protected by state labor laws which may be more strict than federal regulations.

For example, Florida has a minimum wage of $11 an hour, higher than the federal minimum wage, meaning that Florida employers must pay at least $11 to be on the right side of the law. In contrast, Georgia has a minimum wage of $5.15 an hour. Although this is lower than the federal minimum wage, workers in Georgia must still earn at least $7.25 an hour to be paid a legal wage. Some states, like Alabama, do not have any minimum wage requirements. In these cases, employers must comply with federal minimum-wage requirements.

Unfortunately, some businesses may attempt to skirt minimum wage laws by paying employees piece-rate compensation. If piece-rate compensation results in a calculated hourly rate, based on the number of tasks completed during a number of hours worked, that is lower than minimum wage, employees may be able to take legal action.

Have Nissan/Infiniti class action lawsuits been filed?

In 2021, Nissan and Infiniti dealership technicians took legal action against Nissan for allegedly failing to pay them minimum wage due to piece-rate compensation. According to the plaintiffs, Nissan uses the piece-rate payment system to deny full payment to its technicians.

Nissan and Infiniti technicians are allegedly paid per service performed with rates varying based on if the service is covered by warranty or paid by the customer. Although Nissan compensates technicians for the hours spent on these tasks through the piece-rate system, the dealership allegedly forces its employees to perform undocumented and unreimbursed work such as preparing tools, cleaning the workshop or training. As a result, technicians are allegedly paid an hourly rate below the minimum wage required by federal and state laws.

According to the Nissan class action lawsuit, the piece-rate system used to be extremely lucrative for technicians and encouraged them to be efficient with their time. However, over the course of several years, Nissan allegedly changed its policies to force technicians to work more than 40 hours in a week but failed to adjust its compensation model to pay them for this extra work.

“Nissan’s misconduct and misuse of this payment system fails to properly compensate employees for a substantial number of hours worked in the day,” the Nissan piece rate class action lawsuit contends.

Join a Nissan, Infiniti piece-rate class action lawsuit investigation

Nissan and Infiniti dealership employees may be able to take legal action if they were not properly compensated under state and federal laws.

If you are a Florida, Georgia or Alabama resident who worked for a Nissan dealership at any point from January 2021 to the present, you may qualify to participate in this Nissan piece rate class action lawsuit investigation.

Fill out the form on this page to see if you qualify for a FREE case evaluation.