Bank of America Lawsuit Alleges Hourly Workers Weren’t Paid for Computer Start-Up Time

Case Overview: A proposed class action alleges Bank of America failed to pay hourly employees for mandatory computer setup and login time before clocking in.

Workers Affected: Hourly analysts and support staff required to boot up systems before starting paid shifts.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

Bank of America, one of the world’s financial giants, is shortchanging hundreds of hourly workers who say they weren’t paid for the time spent starting up their computers before clocking in, according to a new lawsuit. 

The lawsuit, filed in North Carolina, alleges that employees routinely performed up to 30 minutes of unpaid work each day just getting their systems ready, time that should count toward their paid hours, Tom’s Hardware reports.

The case centers on tasks familiar to anyone working in a digital environment: logging in through multi-factor authentication, connecting to a VPN, launching required software, and opening spreadsheets or other tools needed for the day’s work. 

The filing says these steps were mandatory before employees could even access the company’s timekeeping system to clock in, effectively forcing them to work “off the clock.”

Analyst Describes Daily Routine of Unpaid Start-Ups, Logins, and System Delays

The lawsuit was filed by former employee Tava Martin, who worked both remotely and at Bank of America’s Jacksonville, Florida, office. She says she and other hourly analysts spent between 15 and 30 minutes each morning waiting for their systems to load, with additional unpaid time lost during lunch breaks when the company’s security systems automatically logged them out. 

Even shutting down at the end of the day added several minutes of required but uncompensated work.

Martin earned more than $46 an hour through a staffing agency but says Bank of America controlled her day-to-day work, training, and schedule. Because she worked full-time, she argues the bank should have paid overtime wages for the extra minutes spent on startup and shutdown tasks, time that added up to hours each week. 

The complaint suggests the company either failed to track this work entirely or knowingly ignored it.

Federal Labor Guidance Says Required Setup Time Must Be Compensated

Federal labor standards make clear that required pre-shift tasks can count as compensable work time. The U.S. Department of Labor has said since 2008 that call center and office workers must be paid for activities such as booting computers if those steps are necessary to perform their jobs. 

The lawsuit argues that Bank of America not only required employees to complete these steps before logging time, but also pressured them to be “phone ready” the moment their shifts began, leaving no chance to perform setup during paid hours.

Case Adds to Ongoing Legal Challenges Over Pay and Labor Practices

This isn’t Bank of America’s first brush with wage or consumer lawsuits. The bank is already defending claims in California over allegedly profiting from public benefit funds, as well as separate cases in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts involving payment systems, credit cards, and fees. 

Similar “off-the-clock” lawsuits have also been filed against other major employers, including automaker BlueOval SK, accused of forcing employees to complete unpaid pre-shift tasks.

Martin aims to represent hundreds of current and former hourly business analysts and support staff who worked remotely for the bank in recent years.

The proposed class action seeks back pay and damages for unpaid time and asks the court to ensure Bank of America compensates all workers for mandatory pre-shift and post-shift computer work.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Martin v. Bank of America
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

Have you had to log in or set up systems before clocking in at work? Share your experience in the comments below.