In the case of Bitner, Thomas et al v. Wyndham Vacation Resorts, Inc., Thomas Bitner and Toshia Parker filed a lawsuit against Wyndham Vacation Resorts (Wyndham) for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Wisconsin state law. Btiner and Parker claimed that Wyndham had required them to work without overtime compensation for hours beyond 40 per week.
Bitner and Parker, who were sales representatives, claimed that they were asked to clock out when they were not actively pursuing a buyer, even though they were required to remain on Wyndham premises. They were also asked to clock out despite attending meetings. Bitner and Parker also claimed that their time entries were edited to show reduced working hours. Due to that, Bitner and Parker accused Wyndham of willfully violating the FLSA.
Wyndham filed a motion to dismiss the case, but the court affirmed that Bitner and Parker had strong allegations.
Ultimately, the court decided to favor Bitner and Parker for their overtime violation claims. A settlement was approved which awarded $7,500 each to Bitner and Parker. The settlement also included an amount of $546,360.00 in attorney fees.
Key lessons from this case:
- Employers should be aware that requiring employees to clock out or work off-the-clock when they are still performing work-related tasks is a violation of overtime laws.
- It is illegal for employers to manipulate or edit employee time entries to reduce working hours artificially.
- Manipulating an employee’s time entries to alter their recorded working hours can be seen as a willful violation.
If you want to know more about overtime regulations, read our guide on Wisconsin Overtime Laws.
