The Fifth Third Bank wage and hour case is a proposed class action over unpaid pre-shift work by hourly call-center staff. The Fair Labor Standards Act claim, the federal law on minimum wage and overtime, says boot-up and log-in time should have been paid.
Law360 reported that a customer service representative filed the class and collective case over prep time in its Oct. 7, 2026 report. If you did off-clock computer prep before calls, this filing is the one to watch.
Table of Contents
- Which pre-shift tasks are at issue?
- Why might the employer say the minutes are not payable?
- When have workers won these boot-up arguments?
- What should you do now?
Which pre-shift tasks are at issue?
The case targets hourly call-center staff who had to get systems ready before paid time started. Law360 reports the work was booting computers, logging into phone and computer systems, and preparing before clocking in, in its wage-hour update.
For example, a rep might switch on a work PC, wait for security screens, then open dialer and chat tools. If that routine happened before clock-in or before taking calls, the claim treats it as unpaid work. Check your normal start: when did systems require you versus when did pay start?.
Why might the employer say the minutes are not payable?
Maynard Nexsen notes in its employer guide that companies may invoke the Portal-to-Portal Act exclusion for preliminary activity. That law is the federal rule that can exclude travel or tasks before the main job starts.
The same guide flags the de minimis doctrine, the idea that very short periods may be treated as too small to pay. In boot-up disputes, that defense often turns on seconds versus minutes and whether you were waiting or working. Regular daily set-up routines face a different fight than brief, irregular clicks.
When have workers won these boot-up arguments?
Call-center staff have gained ground when computer steps were required for the job. Brown, LLC points in its FLSA analysis to Tenth Circuit 2021 and Ninth Circuit 2022 rulings.
Those decisions treated required computer boot-up and log-in minutes as possibly compensable under the FLSA. The key question is control: did the bank require that system step before you could take calls? Keep any message that told you to log in early or be ready at start time.
What should you do now?
Write down your usual routine while you remember it. Note arrival, first computer action, clock-in, and first call for several shifts. Keep simple proof together.
Store copies outside work systems. Bring those notes if a notice offers a way to join, or if you speak with an employment lawyer. Early notes carry more weight than memory months later.
- shift schedules and pay stubs showing clock times
- photos or notes of start-up screens and log-in steps
- messages telling you to boot up or be ready early