Bank of America is facing allegations that it failed to pay hundreds of remote hourly employees for the time they spent each day preparing their work systems before their paid shifts officially started. A new class action lawsuit filed in federal court claims that many remote business analysts and similar staff members routinely spent up to 30 minutes booting up their computers, logging in through multiple security steps, and opening work applications before they were “call ready,” yet this time was not recorded or compensated.
Former Employee Leads Complaint
The lawsuit is led by Tava Martin, a former business analyst who worked both remotely and later on-site at the bank’s Jacksonville, Florida location. According to the complaint, Martin and her colleagues were required to complete a detailed multistep login process every morning before they could begin taking calls or assisting business clients. This included starting their computers, waiting for system programs to load, securing a VPN login token, signing into the corporate network, and opening multiple web-based tools and Excel files needed for the day’s work.
These procedures were mandatory and had to be completed before employees could perform the job responsibilities they were paid for. However, the lawsuit states that none of this setup time was counted toward paid working hours, despite being essential to their roles.
Reported Setup Time Frequently Used Before Paid Shifts
The complaint highlights that the login process typically took between 15 and 30 minutes every morning. Technical delays could stretch that time even longer, especially when network authentication or software access issues occurred. Workers were required to be completely ready to take calls exactly at the start of their scheduled shift. If they were signed in on the timekeeping system but unable to take calls the moment their shift began, they could receive negative performance scores or potentially face disciplinary action.
This arrangement effectively forced employees to perform necessary job tasks before they could clock in, the lawsuit claims.
Lunch Breaks and End-of-Day Tasks Added More Unpaid Time
The lawsuit also points to additional unpaid work throughout the day. For example, during unpaid lunch breaks, the system often logged users out for security reasons. When workers returned, they often had to repeat portions of the login sequence, adding another three to five minutes of work that was again not recorded.
At the end of each day, employees were expected to sign out of several programs and shut down their systems, which reportedly added another two to three minutes of time that was not counted as paid work. Over the course of weeks and months, this daily unpaid time could accumulate significantly.
Compensation and Overtime Concerns
The financial core of the case centers on wage calculations. Martin earned $46.17 per hour through a third-party staffing agency while working full-time hours at the bank. Under federal labor rules, time worked beyond 40 hours per week must be paid at an overtime rate of 1.5 times the regular pay.
The lawsuit highlights specific workweeks where Martin was paid exactly 40 hours, even though her pre-shift and post-shift work time would have pushed her hours beyond the standard threshold. For one example week listed in the filing, Martin accumulated nearly 100 minutes of additional time across five shifts. The lawsuit argues that this time should have been paid at her overtime rate of $69.25 per hour, but no such payment was made. The complaint states that similar discrepancies occurred regularly.
Federal Labor Guidance Supports Claims
A 2008 U.S. Department of Labor guidance specifically addressing call center workers notes that starting up computers and launching necessary software is considered part of an employee’s “first principal activity” and therefore must be compensable. The guidance also requires employers to keep accurate time records of all hours worked, including startup and shutdown tasks.
The lawsuit claims that Bank of America either failed to evaluate whether this time counted as work under federal law or knowingly ignored its legal obligation to compensate workers for that time.
Broader Pattern Suggested
The complaint notes that Bank of America has faced similar allegations in previous cases involving other roles. This, the lawsuit argues, may point toward a systemic practice affecting remote and computer-dependent hourly workers across the company.
Martin seeks class certification on behalf of all current and former remote hourly business analysts who worked for Bank of America within the three years before the court certifies the class. The suit estimates the potential class could number in the hundreds or possibly thousands, given the consistency of job duties, login procedures, and timekeeping practices across teams.
