It was just over a year ago when a federal judge approved a settlement between some 1,500 current and former Pacific Bell engineers who alleged that their employer failed to pay them for overtime worked. The plaintiffs claimed that they worked an average of 50 hours per week. Per California law the workers should have received OT for any time in excess of 40 hours. Pac Bell countered that the employees - few of which had professional engineering degrees - fell under a classification known as professionals and were exempt from the law. Ultimately the two sides chose to settle. Under the agreement Pacific Bell will compensate class members for an estimated 57,273 employee months. The cost to Pac Bell? A cool $35 million. It doesn't take an engineering degree to calculate the potential windfall to workers should they begin matching their pocket protectors with class-action suits.
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