Ohio attorneys sue Cincinnati Bell over employee pay

The Columbus law firm that is suing Fuyao Glass America over employee pay and scheduling is part of a new lawsuit against Cincinnati Bell.

The law firms of Barkan Meizlish, LLP and Mangano Law Offices Co., LPA filed a collective action lawsuit recently against the telephone, data and high-speed internet company.

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The lawsuit was filed on behalf of current and former outbound sales employees of Cincinnati Bell who the lawsuit alleges were not properly paid for overtime work. The suit claims violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the Ohio Minimum Fair Wage Standards Act, also known as the “Ohio Wage Act”.

Under the FLSA, nonexempt employees must be paid overtime at a rate of 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a single work week. Commission payments must be included in the regular rate for purposes of calculating overtime, the law firms said in a joint announcement on the suit.

The firms claim that Cincinnati Bell failed to include monthly commission payments when calculating the regular rate of pay for its outbound sales representatives.

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“As a result, the suit alleges, the plaintiff and other similarly situated individuals were not properly paid for all of their overtime hours worked,” the announcement said.

The lawsuit is captioned Johnson v. Cincinnati Bell, Inc. et al., case No. 1:18-cv-138 in Cincinnati’s federal court.

A message seeking comment was sent to Cincinnati Bell representatives.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Dayton granted plaintiffs class action status in a pay dispute lawsuit against Fuyao in Moraine. Columbus firm Barkan Meizlish Handelman Goodin DeRose Wentz, LLP is shepherding that lawsuit.

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