Meal and Rest Breaks Were Denied, Claims Charter Communications Employee

A new class action Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuit has been filed, alleging meal and rest breaks were denied non-exempt employees of Charter Communications.

The initiating plaintiff, La Sonya D., filed the legal complaint on behalf of herself and others employed in the capacity of Voice Operations Specialist for the defendant Charter Communications Inc. whose headquarters is located in Samford, Conn. She says she never got the meal and rest breaks legally owed to her.

La Sonya claims that she as well as the other 700 to 800 employees of the Charter Communications call center where she was employed in Irving, Texas, were denied meal and rest breaks routinely. She indicates that this was due to employer-driven imposed deadlines to complete tasks and that time cards were doctored to reflect meal and rest breaks that weren’t taken during three out of every five shifts.

According to the lawsuit narrative, the complainant worked full-time for the defendant from May 2014 through January 2017 with a short-period off work for disability from September to December 2016.

La Sonya’s rate of pay was $16.50 per hour, but she claims she wasn’t paid for the meal and rest breaks she wasn’t actually given.

Enforcing Meal and Rest Break Requirements

The initiating plaintiff is seeking certification of this legal claim as a class action and herself as a class representative because she believes she was but one of many employees of Charter Communications Inc. that were denied appropriate meal and rest breaks.

La Sonya alleges that the company–which does business in the multiple U.S. states including Texas and New York—has a general habit of withholding meal and rest breaks and then failing to compensate for the additional work time.

The complainant has filed this action believing that other current and former employees would benefit from joining the litigation to regain their lost wages. A class period of three years retroactive to the June 25, 2018 filing has been named to include these employees in the legal claim.

La Sonya is bringing a few causes of action against the defendants referencing the FLSA. The first cause is Failure to Pay Wages and Overtime Compensation in Violation of the FLSA.

Under this cause, employees needed to be paid for all hours worked at their regular rate of pay up to 40-hours per seven-day period. Any work done over that amount, call center workers needed to be paid for overtime hours at one-and-one-half times their regular rate of pay.

La Sonya is bringing two other causes of action under the FLSA which are directly applicable to the Texas sub-class. The causes are Breach of Contract and Unjust Enrichment.

She alleges that employees entered into individual contracts with Charter Communications of service for pay which was breached when they were denied meal and rest breaks but not paid for the work time. Following from this breach of contract, the defendants gained undeserved financial gain.

The plaintiff is seeking through her counsel recognition of the action as a class action and herself as its representative. She is seeking payment of all past due regular and overtime wages for the class as well as prejudgment and post-judgment interest, litigation costs, and penalties.

The Meal and Rest Breaks Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-05730 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Join a Free Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay within the past 3 years, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone.

Get a Free Case Evaluation Now