Riggan Law Firm Files Collective Action Overtime Lawsuit Against Peoplescout, Inc. and Seaton, LLC

Recently, Riggan Law Firm, LLC, a St. Louis overtime law firm, filed a collective action lawsuit on behalf of its clients, a group of recruiters, to recover unpaid wages for time that the employees spent working “off the clock.” The plaintiffs, who worked for Peoplescout, Inc. and Seaton, LLC as recruiters, assert claims for unpaid overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).

The recruiters allege that the Defendants had a policy that disallowed the reporting of overtime hours (i.e., hours over 40 in a single workweek), yet the recruiters were expected to meet workload requirements that caused them to work more than 40 hours per week. Specifically, the suit alleges that Defendants “assigned work to recruiters that they are unable to perform within a 40-hour-per week schedule, and Defendants pressured and/or required recruiters not to record their overtime hours.” The suit further alleges that Defendants fostered an environment where recruiters are required to specifically under-report their hours worked, and that the Defendants willfully failed to keep accurate time records to save payroll costs and in an effort to keep client projects within budget.

According to the lawsuit, the recruiters performed various outsourced recruitment services for the clients of Peoplescout and Seaton, including employment marketing, brand creation, and microsite development; candidate sourcing; screening; interview scheduling; offer administration; pre-employment check coordination; on-boarding services; employee retention services and exit interviews; on-site services; and reporting and analysis.

According to its website, Seaton is a $500+ million outsourcing and recruiting company that operates under the Peoplescout brand. Seaton/Peoplescout provides services to the following industries: airline, financial services, technology, consumer products, telecommunications, retail, utilities, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and transportation.

In the lawsuit, the recruiters seek recovery of unpaid overtime wages, statutory liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees, and litigation costs/expenses.

To read a copy of the lawsuit, click here.