Class action claims Sprint Nextel shorted pay to store employees

Sprint Nextel Corp. is facing a class-action lawsuit that alleges the No. 3 mobile-phone carrier violated federal and state labor laws for failing to pay wages to employees at retail stores and to compensate them for overtime work.
“Defendants could easily and accurately record the actual time retail store employees work as alleged . however defendants have attempted to minimize their retail store payroll, and to avoid overtime pay-outs, by their practices and/or policies (and lack thereof), which effectively prevent employees from recording overtime and wages worked and managers from approving or paying proper compensation for it,” stated the 17-page class-action complaint filed in the U.S. district court in Illinois.
The five-count lawsuit, which names Sprint Nextel, Sprint/United Management and others as defendants, is seeking back pay, damages and attorneys’ fees and costs.
“Sprint’s practices comply with federal and state law regarding payment of overtime wages. We are confident that the plaintiff in this case was paid accurately for the time worked,” said Matthew Sullivan, a Sprint Nextel spokesman.
Representing the plaintiffs is the Progressive Law Group L.L.C., which has offices in Chicago and Madison. The law firm is also pursuing a class-action lawsuit against Sprint Nextel over text message charges.