Yes, Regions Bank call-center workers can sue over unpaid minimum wage or overtime. The Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal wage law, lets workers sue for themselves and similarly situated coworkers. Most call-center disputes turn on off-the-clock computer time. Regions Bank and Regions Financial staff have used this same court path before for overtime claims.
Table of Contents
- How does federal wage law allow a suit?
- Is call-center boot-up paid time?
- Have Regions workers sued before?
- What pay and protections are at stake?
How does federal wage law allow a suit?
The U.S. Department of Labor explains in its wage guide that covered, nonexempt workers must receive at least $7.25 per hour. The same rule requires overtime at 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 per week.
Federal law also creates the court procedure. FindLaw's text of the statute in the collective-action provision says one or more employees may sue any employer in federal or state court. That suit can seek unpaid minimum wages or overtime for the group.
Is call-center boot-up paid time?
Courts have treated boot-up as paid work when workers cannot do the job without it. Vigilant's report on the Las Vegas call-center ruling says the Ninth Circuit found boot-up compensable in Cadena v. Customer Connexx. Functioning computers were integral and indispensable to answering calls and scheduling pickups. A January 2022 article from Parsons Behle & Latimer reaches the same result in Peterson v.
Nelnet. The Tenth Circuit held 2–3 minutes per shift booting computers and launching software was compensable. Workers could not service loans without that software. There is still a limit. The Ninth Circuit confirmed in July 2024 that the de minimis defense remains available. Tiny, hard-to-record boot periods may be noncompensable on specific facts.
Have Regions workers sued before?
Yes. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia addressed the Regions overtime case involving Regions Financial Corp. and Regions Bank.
Mortgage processors, underwriters and closers filed a putative class action for unpaid overtime. That case matters because it used the same Fair Labor Standards Act route. The job titles were different from call-center work. The legal path for group unpaid-wage claims was the same.
What pay and protections are at stake?
The Labor Department's employment guide says a private suit can generally recover two years of back pay. The period extends to three years for willful violations. It can also include an equal amount as liquidated damages, plus attorney's fees and costs.
Workers do not have to start in court. Options include: The Labor Department's advisor says the Division investigates records and interviews workers. Firing or discriminating against a worker for filing a complaint is itself illegal.
- suing alone or with similarly situated coworkers for unpaid wages or overtime
- checking whether the claim supports two years of back pay, or three years if willful
- filing a confidential complaint with the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division