Bloomberg: ‘Pfizer, J&J and other drug makers are sued over overtime pay’
Pfizer, J&J and other drug makers are sued over overtime pay
By Karen Gullo
BLOOMBERG NEWS
12/01/2006
San Francisco — Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and six other drug companies have been sued by current and former workers who claimed the company failed to pay overtime to tens of thousands of salespeople.
The workers claimed in state and federal courts in New York, New Jersey and California that the companies improperly designated sales staff as exempt from laws requiring overtime for employees who work more than 40 hours a week. The complaints seek back pay and damages.
“We will seek to prove that thousands of employees from the major drug companies are being denied their overtime pay,” said Eric Kingsley, an attorney for the workers, in a statement. “They work very long hours, 55-60 hours a week, and sometimes even more than that.”
The litigation is the latest in a series of lawsuits accusing companies of violating state and federal overtime pay laws.
IBM Corp. agreed to pay $65 million on Nov. 22 to settle claims it illegally denied overtime pay to 32,000 workers who install and maintain computers.
Investment banks Morgan Stanley and UBS AG also have settled similar lawsuits for $42.5 million and $89 million, respectively.
“We don’t believe the suits have any merit and plan to vigorously defend that position in court,” said Bryant Haskins, a spokesman for New York-based Pfizer.
Jeff Leebaw, a spokesman for Johnson & Johnson, of New Brunswick, N.J., couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
The other companies named in the complaints are AstraZeneca PLC, Amgen Inc., Eli Lilly & Co., Hoffman-Laroche Inc., GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Bayer AG. The suit against Hoffman was filed Nov. 28 in New York federal court.
Outside sales representatives generally are exempt from laws requiring overtime pay if they regularly work outside the company’s place of business and make sales or take orders while calling on customers.
Lawyers for the workers say drug company sales representatives visit doctors, handing out medicine samples and reciting marketing pitches developed by the companies.
The workers who filed the lawsuits claim they don’t sell drugs or take orders.
“Current regulations are very specific that you have to be engaged in making sales” to be exempt, said Charles Joseph, an attorney for the workers, in a telephone interview.
