Call center worker alleges wage theft in Navy Federal class action lawsuit

By Top Class Actions | November 6, 2026

Category: Labor & Employment

Navy Federal sign on the facade of Navy Federal Credit Union branch office — (Photo Credit: Michael Vi/Shutterstock)

Navy Federal class action lawsuit overview:

Who: A former Navy Federal call center employee filed a class action lawsuit against Navy Federal Credit Union.
Why: The plaintiff claims Navy Federal failed to pay call center workers for time spent booting up and logging into their computers.
Where: The Navy Federal class action lawsuit was filed in Virginia federal court.

A new class action lawsuit accuses Navy Federal of forcing call center employees to work off the clock by requiring them to boot up their computers and load work software before they could clock in.

A former Navy Federal call center employee filed the lawsuit on Oct. 27, claiming the unpaid work cost workers about 15 to 30 minutes of pay every day.

The former employee worked as an hourly credit card specialist from approximately October 2010 through June 2025. She claims Navy Federal’s customer service representatives at its Florida and Virginia call centers received the same training and followed the same policies.

Navy Federal allegedly instructed representatives to be ready to take calls the moment their shifts began.

“This required the plaintiff and CSRs to load and log into essential work-related computer programs and applications before the start of their shifts and before they were allowed to clock in so they could be prepared to field/make calls the moment their shift began,” the Navy Federal class action lawsuit says.

The plaintiff points to a 2008 U.S. Department of Labor fact sheet on call centers, which flags unpaid computer startup time at the beginning of the workday as a common abuse in the industry.

The plaintiff wants to represent a proposed collective of all current and former hourly customer service representatives, or employees in similar roles, who worked for Navy Federal during the three years before the lawsuit was filed through judgment. She also seeks to represent a class of similar workers employed during the applicable statutory period.

Wage theft claims focus on unpaid pre-shift computer startup time

Before each shift, representatives allegedly were required to turn on their computers, log into Microsoft Windows and open several programs, including Webex and Avaya.

The former employee claims workers could clock in only after every application loaded, yet Navy Federal limited how early they could clock in. She says the pre-shift process alone took 15 to 30 minutes or more. Workers who started late risked tardies, poor schedule adherence scores and discipline, including termination.

Workers also allegedly spent a few minutes logging back in before their unpaid meal breaks ended and additional time closing programs after clocking out. Because representatives typically worked 40-hour weeks, the plaintiff says this unpaid time was nearly always overtime.

The wage theft class action lawsuit claims Navy Federal violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, breached its contracts with workers and was unjustly enriched.

The plaintiff demands a jury trial and requests declaratory relief and an award of unpaid wages, liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees and costs.

In a similar class action lawsuit, former call center employees are suing Fifth Third Bancorp and Regions Bank for allegedly failing to pay them for time spent preparing to take calls, including booting up computers, connecting to secure networks and logging back in after lunch breaks.

Have you ever worked off the clock at a Navy Federal call center? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Matthew T. Sutter of Sutter & Terpak PLLC and Jesse L. Young and Jacob R. Rusch of Sommers Schwartz P.C.

The Navy Federal class action lawsuit is Case No. 1:26-cv-03580, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.