Video -Game Workers Sue for Overtime Pay

Written December 4, 2004 - Roger R. Carter 
By Dean Takahashi

Once again unpaid gaming overtime is an issue, this time at EA. Please check out the following article about Video Game Workers Suing For Overtime Pay.

Many employees within this industry, namely designers and developers, find themselves with a misclassification question-exempt vs non exempt employee status. This status is important when dealing with overtime issues because many exempt employees believe they are not entitled to wage recovery. To find out more about potential exempt job titles and qualification for unpaid wage recovery please visit  http://www.carterlawfirm.net/practice-areas/non-exempt-professionals/index.html.

IGDA: Regarding Overtime Concerns at Rockstar San Diego

Written January 13, 2010 - Roger R. Carter 
By Joe Sapp

The International Game Developers Association has recently been made aware of concerns regarding excessive crunch during the development of games produced by the company Rockstar, namely Red Dead Redemption. Funnily enough this issue was brought up by the wives of Rockstar employees who recognize the absence or their loved one from home while trying to meet a gaming deadline.

Design companies, particularly video game design companies, really raise the concept of excessive, uncompensated overtime. Is there a point in which it becomes harmful to not only the developers but to the industry as a whole?

In attempt to combat this issue, the IGDA has pushed to raise awareness of the quality of life issues within the industry. Please read more on the IDGA's Concern Regarding Overtime at Rockstar San Diego.

Many employees within this industry, namely designers and developers, find themselves with a misclassification question-exempt vs non exempt employee status. This status is important when dealing with overtime issues because many exempt employees believe they are not entitled to wage recovery. To find out more about potential exempt job titles and qualification for unpaid wage recovery please visit  http://www.carterlawfirm.net/practice-areas/non-exempt-professionals/index.html.

Scrum & Overtime

Written January 8, 2010 - Roger R. Carter 
By Clinton Keith

Overtime within the gaming industry is a topic that was brought to the forefront of employment law with the class action lawsuits against Electronic Arts and Rockstar Games by employees alleging unpaid overtime.

Many employees within this industry, namely designers and developers, find themselves with a misclassification question-exempt vs non exempt employee status. This status is important when dealing with overtime issues because many exempt employees believe they are not entitled to wage recovery. To find out more about potential exempt job titles and qualification for unpaid wage recovery please visit  http://www.carterlawfirm.net/practice-areas/non-exempt-professionals/index.html.

We recently came across this great article covering topics such as scrum, overtime and agile game development within the gaming industry. When it comes to game development, it is said that Scrum avoids overtime because development teams can decide to drop some of their Sprint goals if they are faced with too much to do within 40 hour weeks. Does scrum really help overworked employees or does it ultimately allow employees to jump ship when the hurdles of completion seem too daunting?

The gaming industry revolves are time management of development teams; too much time and deadlines are not met, too little time and overtime accrues in employees’ favor. Check out the following article to read more on applying Agile Methodologies to game development.

Orange County Employment Attorney Wins Settlements for Employees

Written January 8, 2010 - Roger R. Carter 
By Roger Carter

Roger Carter is an Employment attorney in Orange County.  Mr Carter focuses on employment law and represents employees who have been wrongfully terminated, discriminated against, or not received proper wages including overtime pay. Within the last 4 years The Carter Law Firm's total recoveries has exceeded $100,000,000.

Some of his case wins include the following
Adv. VMWARE                 $6,500,000
2007: Plaintiff filed a Complaint against VMWARE (a worldwide IT product distributor who employs several “engineers” that were allegedly classified as “salary exempt” irrespective of their duties or daily tasks) on behalf of himself (a QA Engineer) and all employees who worked for VMWARE in California as software engineers, test engineers, systems administrators, QA engineers (platform solutions –automation engineer and manual testing), and QA 2 engineers (platform solutions – manual testing). This wage and hour class action sought the recovery of overtime compensation. In his complaint, Plaintiff alleged that VMWARE violated the California Labor Code and California Business & Professions Code § 17200 by classifying individuals in the enumerated job categories as exempt from payment of overtime under California law, failing to provide meal periods and rest breaks as required under the California Labor Code, and failing to provide adequate itemized wage statements. Plaintiff sought compensatory damages, restitution under California Business & Professions Code § 17200, and penalties under the Labor Code.

Adv. Lending Tree                 $2,500,000
2008: Plaintiffs filed a Complaint against Lending Tree (an online marketplace of lenders where consumers can complete a loan request and compare offers from competing lenders) on behalf of loan officers, mortgage bankers, equity specialists, and any similar positions, bringing causes of action for unpaid overtime, failure to provide meal breaks, unauthorized deductions, waiting time penalties, improper wage statements and unfair business practices.

Adv. Lone Star Steakhouse                 $750,000
2007: Plaintiff filed a Complaint against Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon on behalf of himself and others similarly situated. The complaint contained causes of action for failure to pay overtime compensation, unlawful business practices, failure to provide meal periods, failure to provide rest periods, failure to provide itemized wage statements, failure to pay wages upon termination of employment, failure to pay minimum wages and failure to provide and maintain uniforms (violations of Labor Code sections 1194, 226.7, 512, 203 as well as California Business & Professions Code section 17200).

If you need to speak with an Orange County employment attorney familiar with the Fair Labor Standard Act Laws then contact the Carter Law Firm.

Carter Law Firm
2030 Main Street, Suite 1300
Irvine, CA 92614
(949) 260-4737

Orange County Wage and Hour Attorneys

Written January 8, 2010 - Roger R. Carter 
By Roger Carter
   

Wage and Hour Violations

There are some employers who take advantage of employees who fear losing their jobs if they complain about lack of compensation. A skilled wage and hour attorney in Orange County can help put a stop to the illegal actions and fight for the Orange County wage benefits that you deserve. Wage and hour violations occur more than most people think. At times wage fraud is committed by employers who are not familiar with the Fair Labor Standards Act laws and California laws. Employers must pay minimum wage, and overtime pay may not be less than one and one-half times an employee's regular rate of pay after 40 hours of work in a workweek.

Federal and state laws have specific guidelines for overtime pay. Wage and hour attorneys in Orange County have filed lawsuits and claims on behalf of many  people who have lost wages due to unpaid overtime, unpaid meal breaks, and working off the clock. In addition, lawsuits have been brought by wage and hour lawyers in Orange County for mis-classification of non-exempt employees into exempt categories in order to not compensate them for overtime worked.

Contact a wage and hour attorney in Orange County at the Carter Law Firm about your wage dispute.

 

Orange County Employment Attorney Discusses Wage and Hour Laws

Written January 8, 2010 - Roger R. Carter 
By Roger Carter

California has some of the most intricate wage and hour laws of any state. Hour and wage errors continue to cause employers to spend large amounts of money in the form of attorney fees, jury verdicts, and settlements. Over the past few years, hour and wage law cases have been appearing on a regular basis in courtrooms across the state. 

While there is no doubt that complying with California wage and labor laws can be difficult, it can and should be done. If your employer is not abiding by California wage and hour labor laws, a skilled Orange County employment attorney can seek the justice and compensation you deserve. Federal and state laws differ on wage and hour requirements. Some of the reasons for the complexities involved in understanding wage hours laws in California are due to a divergence in state and the federal laws. Wage and hour laws apply to issues such as the following:
 Termination requirements
 Overtime
 Regularity of payments
 Minimum wage
 The method of payment
 Meal or break period
 Vacation pay requirements
 Overtime
 New employee reporting
 Deductions from compensation

In each of these cases, CA wage and hour laws can differ significantly from the federal ones. Since California has arguably the most comprehensive labor and wage laws in the country.  Contact the Carter Law Firm and speak with an employment attorney in Orange County who knows the ins and outs of the laws and who can be vital to a successful outcome.  

Carter Law Firm
2030 Main Street, Suite 1300
Irvine CA 92614
(949) 260-4737
www.carterlawfirm.net

Feds Poised to Pursue Worker Misclassification as a Crime

Written January 8, 2010 - Roger R. Carter 
By Martha Neil

Employers have always been warned of the potential financial consequences regarding employee legal protection, however Congress is soon expected to enact a bill that would make it a federal offense to misclassify employees as independent contractors. The proposed Employee Misclassification Prevention Act is expected to be passed through the House and Senate and employers are advised to immediately review their employment classifications as the government is expected to aggressively pursue companies practicing obvious noncompliance.

Take a look at the following article to read more on Pursuing Worker Misclassification as a Crime!

Supreme Court Ruling May Impact California Overtime Lawsuits

Written January 8, 2010 - Roger R. Carter 
By Heidi Turner

On February 23, the Supreme Court ruled that Hertz Corp. should face its California overtime lawsuit in federal court rather than in state court in California. This ruling could very well have a big impact on future lawsuits regarding California Overtime as well as in other states. The issue was brought up regarding a company’s business in different states despite where the headquarters may be, creating confusion in whether or not it should be treated as a state or federal issue.

Take a look at the following article to read more about the Supreme Court Ruling That May Impact California Overtime Lawsuits!

Wal-Mart agrees to record $40M wage settlement in Massachusetts

Written January 8, 2010 - Roger R. Carter 
By Dave Copeland

In the largest wage-and-hour class action settlement in Massachusetts’ history, Wal-Mart is set to pay $40 million to over 87,000 current and former employees. The lawsuit filed in 2001 accused the retailer of denying workers rest and meal breaks, refusing to pay overtime and manipulating time cards to lower employees’ pay; claims resulting in a settlement that is sure to make employers take payment of earned wages and benefits seriously.

Take a look at the following article to read more about the Record $40M Wal-Mart Wage Settlement!

 

Silicon Valley Tech Company Illegally Fires Cal Poly Student Workers for Unionizing

Written January 8, 2010 - Roger R. Carter 
By Student Activists

After being subjected to an unannounced pay cut from $10/hr to $8/hr, 2 Cal Poly Pomona student marketing representatives were fired by their employer, Mountain View-based Uloop.com, for attempting to organize a worker’s union. The students were fired from their part-time jobs 20minutes after posting a message in a online inter-company forum announcing their intention to form a union and have since filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 extends rights to many private sector employees including the right to organize and bargain with their employer collectively. Employees covered by the Act are protected from certain typed of employer misconduct and have the right to attempt to form a union where none currently exists.

Take a look at the following article to read more about the Silicon Valley Tech Company Illegally Fires Cal Poly Student Workers for Unionizing!   

 

Low-Wage Workers Are Often Cheated, Study Says

Written January 8, 2010 - Roger R. Carter 
By Steven Greenhouse
 
According to a new study conducted in the first half of 2008 by the National Employment Law Project focused on workers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, low-wage workers are routinely denied proper overtime pay and are often paid less than the minimum wage. The breakdown of those surveyed was 39% illegal immigrants, 31% legal immigrants and 30% native-born Americans. In surveying various low-wage industries, it was found that the typical worker would experience approximately 15% loss in pay per week due to wage violations.

Following are more statistics highlighted within the study:

• Many small businesses feel forced to violate
  wage laws to remain competitive.
• 68% of workers interviewed had experienced at
  least one pay-related violation the previous work week.
• Only 8% of workers injured on the job filed for
  workers’ compensation, due to employers pressuring workers not to file.
• 26% of the workers surveyed had been paid less
  than the minimum wage the week before being surveyed and 1 in 7 had worked off
  the clock.
• 76% of those who had worked overtimes the week
  before were not paid their proper overtime.
• 1 in 5 workers reported having filed a complaint
  about wages to their employer or tried to form a union in the previous year and
  43% had experienced some form of illegal retaliation, like firing or
  suspension.

Take a look at the following article to read the NELP Study: Broken Laws
Report 2009 in depth!

The Employee Free Choice Act 101

Written January 8, 2010 - Roger R. Carter 
By David Madland, Karla Walter

Increasingly, the right of workers to form unions to collectively bargain with their employer is becoming an employee concern. More than half of US employees say they would vote to join a union if they could, however they are prevented from doing so within the private sector. Many find that employer intimidation or corrupt election methods are the source of the dilemma and they want to have a legitimate avenue for counterbalancing the systems that are in place by their employer. Naturally, many corporations and small businesses alike push away the idea of giving their employees a voice and say in the operations of a company however it is said that without strong unions, wages lag, race and gender pay gaps widen and voter turnout decreases as inequality increases.

To combat this issue, there is now the Employee Free Choice Act reform which aims to protect workers’ right to form unions through a workplace majority sign-up process while protecting them from employer threats. Because of employers’ hesitation to have their power challenged by unionized workers, three myths exist to bring down the reform for workers:

1) The reform is undemocratic because it eliminates the secret ballot
and allows unions to intimidate workers.

2) Binding arbitration prevents negotiation by imposing unreasonable
time limits and will lead to the imposition of uncompetitive contracts.

3) Increasing unionization, especially during the recessions, will harm
workers and the economy by making business uncompetitive.

Take a look at the following article to find the rebuttals for the Employee Free Choice Act!

Americans Working Much Harder - for Less Pay

Written January 8, 2010 - Roger R. Carter
By John W. Schoen

Recent government data on worker productivity indicates that most Americans are likely to be working harder and putting in longer hours for the same pay. The Labor Department has stated that the American workforce produced 6.4% more of the goods in the second quarter of this year compared to one year ago, yet the unit labor costs (amount employers are paid) fell by 5.8%.

Many economists believe that the current recession is soon coming to a close due to the slowing of job cuts, increased productivity from fewer workers and the housing market showing signs of a bottom thus resulting in lower wages paid and higher savings for businesses. However other analysts disagree saying that the lower wages and higher savings leaves less money for consumers to buy the goods and services that create demand which makes for companies continuing to squeeze more out of fewer workers.

Take a look at the following article to read more on Working Harder for Less Pay!