Abbott sued by drug reps on overtime pay
They seek protection under key labor law

By Bruce Japsen
Chicago Tribune
June 29, 2007

Pharmaceutical sales representatives, often maligned as good-looking, high-priced caterers of Subway sandwiches and Olive Garden meals to doctors’ offices, are suing their employers, saying they are deprived of overtime pay “earned and owed.”

On Thursday, North Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories became the latest target of plaintiffs’ attorneys bringing class-action suits on behalf of potentially hundreds of current and former drug reps against the powerful pharmaceutical industry. The plaintiffs say drugmakers have for years violated state and federal overtime laws.

The drugmakers deny the allegations and have vowed to fight the lawsuits, which plaintiffs’ lawyers estimate could run into the tens of millions of dollars, depending on how many reps join them.

The suits come in the wake of an intense period of scrutiny of pharmaceutical sales reps and their practices of gift-giving to doctors, which some lawmakers, prosecutors and authors of medical journal studies say lead to unnecessary prescribing and higher health-care costs.

The reps, who have tripled in number to more than 100,000 in the last decade, are typically promoting the latest and often most expensive brand-name prescriptions.

Their industry has been criticized as one filled with beautiful salespeople who woo doctors with lunches, rounds of golf and lavish trips to resorts, rather than an industry of overworked individuals.

Yet lawyers bringing the suits say their clients are increasingly operating in a tough environment, in part because more doctors are reluctant to see the reps in the face of such scrutiny, making the effort to get face time with physicians more competitive and difficult while demands from their bosses become more insistent.

Although attorneys say it is not uncommon for a rep to make $78,000 to $100,000 or more annually, they say the reps are often required to listen to early morning conference calls, attend weekend meetings and complete paperwork at the end of a working day that can run 12 to 18 hours.

“I don’t get the impression that these people are slacking off,” said Ilann Maazel, an attorney representing current and former Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. reps in a case against the New York-based drug giant. “These people are working very hard, more than eight hours a day.”

The case filed against Abbott in U.S. District Court in Chicago is similar to allegations brought in the last year by other attorneys against several other drugmakers, including AstraZeneca PLC, Eli Lilly and Co., Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer Inc.

The reps are unlawfully exempted from the Fair Labor Standards Act, the lawsuits say.

“Although the companies claim that the representatives are salespersons and therefore not protected by overtime laws, with some exceptions they actually don’t sell anything,” said Charles Joseph of the New York law firm Joseph & Herzfeld, who is representing two former Abbott reps. “Rather, they are asked to influence prescribing behaviors of doctors.”

Reps have “little or no decision-making responsibility” despite “fancy titles,” according to a statement from plaintiffs’ lawyers Thursday announcing the suit against Abbott. Many of the sales pitches are also scripted, these lawyers said.

Abbott denies the allegations.

“We value the talents and contributions of our sales representatives and believe they are classified appropriately and are well compensated for their responsibilities,” said Abbott spokeswoman Kelly Morrison. “This lawsuit is without merit.”

Given the scrutiny on drug industry sales practices, sales reps could be opening a Pandora’s box if the result is pharmaceutical companies watching their sales staff more closely.

“They could end up shooting themselves in the foot,” said Jamie Reidy, a former Pfizer sales rep who wrote a book about his experiences selling Viagra and other Pfizer drugs.

Reidy said some of his former rep colleagues in the industry might find themselves in trouble if the pharmaceutical industry starts equipping sales cars with receivers linked to global positioning systems that can track car locations.

The pharmaceutical sales industry Web site Cafepharma.com is littered with reps chatting about asking doctors to fudge sample sheets for a certain date to allow for a long weekend.

And Reidy said it was rare for him to rise early the day after hosting a dinner for top-prescribing doctors.

Sales reps are filing lawsuits today against two more drugmakers – Bristol-Myers Squibb and Abbott Labs – over alleged violations of state and federal overtime laws. With these filings, all of the biggest drugmakers face overtime lawsuits in state and federal courts, according to the lawyers for the sales reps.

The lawsuits charge the drugmakers unlawfully characterize sales reps as “exempt” under the Fair Labor Standards Act and other labor laws, depriving the reps of overtime pay. The lawsuits charge sales reps may have fancy titles, but work 60 to 70 hours a week, have little or no decision-making responsibility and their jobs should be covered by state and federal overtime laws.

The other drugmakers targeted include AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Hoffmann-La Roche, Novartis, Merck, Wyeth, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Schering-Plough and Sanofi Aventis.

“Although the companies claim that the representatives are salespersons and therefore not protected by overtime laws, with some exceptions, they actually don’t sell anything,” says Charles Joseph, one of the lawyers.

“Rather, they are tasked to influence the prescribing behaviors of doctors. Many employees in all industries are under the mistaken impression that being salaried means that they are not protected under the overtime laws. But a salaried employee is entitled to overtime unless they fit within one of the closely defined exceptions to the rule.”

Beth Amendola of Coconut Creek, Florida, was at Bristol-Myers Squibb from 1998 until 2006, and won top regional sales awards five of the eight years she worked there. “We would be in the field from 8 AM until 5 PM, and then have 3 to 4 hours of paperwork to complete at night. I was always at their beck and call. I felt like the Sorcerers’ Apprentice where all the pails and buckets kept coming, no matter how much work I did. Overtime was mandatory; overtime pay was not an option.”

The varios law firms involved in the litigation are working hard to solicit sales reps to join the lawsuits. They’ve set up a web site, Pharmaovertime.com, for instance, and toll-free numbers. Meanwhile, the lawyers say class certification was been granted in the case against Novartis.

The proposed classes in the combined lawsuits include tens of thousands of sales reps throughout the country. The plaintiffs are asking federal and state courts to order the drugmakers to provide overtime pay going forward to eligible employees as well as compensation and damages to current and former employees who were unfairly denied overtime in the past.

Kingsley & Kingsley Announces Pharmaceutical Reps File Overtime Lawsuits Against Bristol-Myers Squibb and Abbot Laboratories

Virtually All Major Drug Companies Now Face Class Action Suits for Violating Federal and State Labor Laws

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–This morning, pharmaceutical representatives filed lawsuits against the pharmaceutical giants Bristol-Myers Squibb and Abbott Laboratories. The suits are the latest in a series of class actions by employees for violation of state and federal overtime laws by drug companies. All of the largest drug companies are now facing national overtime lawsuits filed in state and federal courts in California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Connecticut.

The lawsuits against Bristol-Myers are being filed in federal court in New York and in state court in California; the suit against Abbott is being filed in federal court in Chicago. The new lawsuits charge that the companies – like others in the industry – unlawfully characterize pharmaceutical representatives as “exempt” under the Fair Labor Standards Act and other labor laws, thus depriving the reps of overtime pay earned and owed.

Although pharmaceutical reps are often given fancy titles, they have little or no decision-making responsibility and their jobs should be covered by state and federal overtime laws, the lawsuits charge.

These and earlier cases filed in recent months – against AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Hoffman LaRoche, Novartis, Merck, Wyeth, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Schering-Plough and Sanofi Aventis – are being litigated by the Los Angeles based-firms of Kingsley & Kingsley, LLP and Spiro Moss Barness LLP, the New York firm of Joseph and Herzfeld, LLP and/or the Washington, DC law firm of Sanford Wittels & Heisler, LLP. The New York firm of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP is also litigating the Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Eli Lilly action, in which it is joined by the New York office of Seeger Weiss.

“The industry as a whole employs about 100,000 reps,” said Eric Kingsley of Kingsley & Kingsley. “They routinely work very long hours, often 60 hours a week and sometimes up to 70 or more.”

“Although the companies claim that the representatives are salespersons and therefore not protected by overtime laws, with some exceptions, they actually don’t sell anything,” explained Charles Joseph of Joseph & Herzfeld. “Rather, they are tasked to influence the prescribing behaviors of doctors. Many employees in all industries are under the mistaken impression that being salaried means that they are not protected under the overtime laws. But a salaried employee is entitled to overtime unless they fit within one of the closely defined exceptions to the rule.”

“These are loyal, hardworking employees who play by the rules,” said Ilann Maazel of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP. “There is no excuse for Bristol-Myers’ failure to properly compensate its employees.”

Plaintiff Beth Amendola of Coconut Creek, Florida, who was at Bristol-Myers Squibb from 1998 until 2006, won top regional sales awards five of the eight years she worked at the company. “We would be in the field from 8 AM until 5 PM, and then have 3-4 hours of paperwork to complete at night. I was always at their beck and call. I felt like the Sorcerers’ Apprentice where all the pails and buckets kept coming, no matter how much work I did. Overtime was mandatory; overtime pay was not an option.”

Recent class action lawsuits have won multimillion-dollar settlements for insurance adjusters and computer technicians who were illegally denied overtime by employers who claimed they were exempt.

Class certification has been granted in the case against Novartis (Lopes v. Novartis), which was originally filed by Sanford Wittels in March 2006. “Hundreds of Novartis reps have joined the suit and we expect shortly that many more will,” said attorney David Sanford, who has also filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against the company.

The law firms have set up a website: www.pharmarepovertime.com and toll-free numbers: 888-500-8469 and 866-348-7394 for current and former pharmaceutical company employees who are interested in joining the lawsuits.

According to Kingsley, more than 500 pharmaceutical reps have already called the hotline. “Each time, the reps tell us how they have been forced to work nights and weekends on a regular basis and have not been paid overtime,” he noted.

Plaintiffs who call the hotline describe how their jobs have changed dramatically over the years. In the past, pharmaceutical representatives had the freedom to use their own educated judgment and creativity in marketing the drugs. In the last several years, however, perhaps because of lawsuits over drug marketing and increasing FDA scrutiny, companies have insisted that the representatives use memorized scripts or stick to regimented guidelines as to what they may and may not say. “The complete loss of autonomy in making decisions and scheduling work and family life is a great source of frustration,” said Kingsley. “Many reps feel that what was once a desirable job has turned into rote performance under intense scrutiny at the whim of their immediate supervisors. This is difficult for all reps, but is particularly hard on women with children.”

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company is a multibillion-dollar Delaware Corporation with headquarters in New York City; Abbott Laboratories is headquartered in Illinois; the company’s revenue last year was more than $22 billion. Both corporations do business throughout the United States and internationally.

The proposed classes in the combined lawsuits include tens of thousands of pharmaceutical representatives throughout the country. The plaintiffs are asking federal and state courts to order the drug companies to provide overtime pay going forward to eligible employees as well as compensation and damages to current and former employees who were unfairly denied overtime in the past.

Further Information

Members of the media can obtain copies of the complaints by going to the website: www.pharmarepovertime.com.

Current and former pharmaceutical company representatives who wish to learn more about the lawsuits or to join the lawsuits should visit www.pharmarepovertime.com or call (888) 500-8469 or (866) 348-7394 to contact plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Contacts

Kingsley & Kingsley, APC
Eric Kingsley, 818-990-8300
or
Joseph & Herzfeld LLP
Charles Joseph (except BMS), 866-348-7394

More than a dozen suits filed in several states seeking overtime pay.

Tresa Baldas/Staff reporter, National Law Journal
March 19, 2007

Following what lawyers describe as a growing trend in class action overtime litigation, thousands of pharmaceutical representatives are suing eight major drug companies over unpaid overtime for all the hours they spend hawking drugs in doctors’ offices.

Currently, more than a dozen such pharmaceutical overtime lawsuits-all of them filed in recent months-are pending in California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. Several more are expected to be filed this week in New York, Pennsylvania and possibly Minnesota.

Defendants include AstraZeneca, Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Amgen Inc., Eli Lilly & Co., GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Bayer Corp. and Hoffman-LaRoche Inc., which has oral arguments scheduled for March 19.

The lawsuits are the latest in a series of class actions seeking overtime pay from U.S. businesses in recent years.

IBM Corp. last month agreed to pay $65 million to 32,000 technology workers claiming they were intentionally misclassified so they wouldn’t get overtime pay. Rosenburg v. IBM Corp., No. C06-0430 (N.D. Calif.).

In October, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. lost a $78 million jury verdict in Pennsylvania in class action involving overtime and rest breaks. Hummel v. Wal-Mart, No. 3757, (Philadelphia Co., Pa., Ct. C.P.).

In September, a California judge certified an overtime class action against FedEx Kinko’s alleging hundreds of managers were misclassified as executive employees. Whiteway v. FedEx Kinko’s Office & Print Servs. Inc., No. 05-2320 (N.D. Calif.).

An army of ‘pharm-bots’

In the pharmaceutical cases, plaintiffs allege that drug companies are misclassifying them as salespeople, denying them overtime even though they work 50- to 60-hour weeks. They argue that they’re not actually selling anything, but rather acting as public relations representatives who memorize carefully worded scripts about drugs.

“These reps aren’t making sales. They’re marketing products to doctors . . . . They are not sales reps, but pharm-bots who do and say as they are told,” said Eric Kingsley of Los Angeles-based Kingsley & Kingsley, who is representing plaintiffs in several of the lawsuits.

Some company officials denied the allegations, while others declined comment.

Bryant Haskins, spokesman for Pfizer, which is facing federal lawsuits in New York and California, defended the company’s pay practices. Coultrip v. Pfizer, No. 06CV09952 (S.D.N.Y.). “We believe our sales representatives are properly classified as exempt from overtime pay and are well compensated for their responsibilities,” Haskins said. “We don’t believe that the lawsuits have any merit.”

Laura King, spokeswoman for AstraZeneca, said “AstraZeneca adheres to the laws and regulations of all the states where it conducts business, and we value the talents and contributions of all our employees. With regard to this case, AstraZeneca intends to defend our position vigorously.”

Attorney Mike Delikat of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe’s New York office, who is representing Hoffman LaRoche, declined comment.

Frank Dee of McElroy, Deutch, Mulvaney & Carpenter in Morristown, N.J., who represents Johnson & Johnson, also declined comment.

Anthony DeMeis, founder of the Pharmaceutical Representative Society of New York, defended the drug industry’s pay practices, saying drug reps are, in fact, salespeople who are allowed bonuses-not overtime-for their work. And the more prescriptions that doctors write, he noted, the higher the bonus.

“People can be making $60,000 their first year, not counting a car, computer, phone, home line for work or Internet access,” said DeMeis, a 10-year drug rep who believes the plaintiffs in the overtime litigation are novices and “underperformers” who don’t fully understand the system.

Not exactly, countered Charles Joseph of New York’s Joseph & Herzfeld, who is also representing plaintiffs in the overtime lawsuits.

“Many of the reps that I’ve spoken to have talked about how they used to love the job . . . .[T]hey had the ability to use true sales skills and creativity,” Joseph said. “But one of the reasons we’ve received so many phone calls is that many of them now call themselves pharm-bots who feel that they’re doing very little but dropping off samples and delivering a canned message.”

According to labor and employment attorneys, overtime lawsuits, particularly class actions, have been on the rise since federal wage and hour laws were revised in August 2004 to more strictly define who is eligible for overtime.

Ten Major Drug Companies Now Face Class Action Suits for Violating Federal and State Labor Laws

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis U.S. is the latest target of a series of lawsuits brought by employees that allege violation of state and federal overtime laws by drug companies.

The suit, filed today in federal court in San Francisco, charges that the company – like others in the industry – unlawfully characterizes pharmaceutical representatives as “exempt” under the Fair Labor Standards Act and various state labor laws in order to deprive them of overtime pay.

The complaint against Sanofi-Aventis along with earlier cases filed in recent weeks – against AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Hoffman LaRoche, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, and Boehringer-Ingelheim – are being litigated by the Los Angeles based-firm of Kingsley & Kingsley, APC and the New York firm of Joseph and Herzfeld LLP. The plaintiffs’ lawyers have now been joined by the law firm of Spiro, Moss in Los Angeles.

“We will seek to prove that thousands of employees from the major drug companies are being denied their overtime pay,” charged Eric Kingsley of Kingsley & Kingsley. “They work very long hours, 55-60 hours a week and often well more than that.”

“Many employees in all industries are under the mistaken impression that being salaried means that they are not protected under the overtime laws. This is not correct,” explained Charles Joseph of Joseph & Herzfeld. “Our lawsuits allege that, although the drug companies deprived representatives of overtime by classifying them as exempt, they are in fact not exempt under federal and state laws. The companies have claimed that the representatives are ‘salespersons’ and therefore not protected by the overtime laws, but drug reps’ work is promotional – they actually don’t sell anything. ”

The law firms have set up a website: www.pharmarepovertime.com and a toll-free number: 888-500-8469 for current and former pharmaceutical company employees who are interested in joining the lawsuits.

“Since the first lawsuits were filed, hundreds of pharmaceutical reps from all over the country have contacted us,” said Kingsley. “Over and over we hear similar stories about the reps being forced to work nights and weekends on a regular basis, and the companies’ failure to pay overtime.”

Plaintiffs who call the hotline describe how their jobs have changed dramatically over the years. In the past, the representatives had the freedom to use their own educated judgment and creativity in marketing the drugs. In the last several years, perhaps because of lawsuits over drug marketing and increasing FDA scrutiny, companies have insisted that the representatives use carefully memorized scripts or stick to regimented guidelines as to what they may and may not say. “The complete loss of autonomy in making decisions and scheduling their working and family life is a great source of frustration” said Kingsley. “Many reps feel that what was once a desirable job has turned into rote performance under intense scrutiny at the virtually total beck and call of their management, a requirement sometimes exercised capriciously without time even to reschedule child care.”

The multibillion dollar drug companies operate in all fifty states and employ more than half a million workers; the proposed classes in the combined lawsuits include tens of thousands of pharmaceutical representatives throughout the United States.

The plaintiffs are asking federal and state courts in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and California to order the drug companies to provide overtime pay to eligible employees as well as compensation and damages to current and former employees who were denied overtime.

Further Information

Members of the media can obtain copies of the complaints by going to the website: www.pharmarepovertime.com.

Current and former pharmaceutical company representatives who wish to learn more about the lawsuits or to join the lawsuits should visit www.pharmarepovertime.com or call (888) 500-8469 (Kingsley & Kingsley in California) or (866) 348-7394 (Joseph & Herzfeld in New York) to contact plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Associated Press
December 28, 2006

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Susan Schaefer LaRose quit her sales job in May after 18 years with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co., frustrated by long work weeks that frequently encroached on weekends and vacations.

And then she sued.

Her lawsuit, part of a series of class action claims filed last month against nine major drug companies, seeks tens of millions of dollars in back pay for the thousands of drug company salespeople across the country.

“I was told when I started with Eli Lilly that I was exempt from overtime,” said Schaefer LaRose, a 50-year-old mother of two from Chittenango, N.Y., about 17 miles east of Syracuse. “I figured they were the large employer and I never thought to question it.”

The lawsuits, filed in New York, California, New Jersey and Connecticut, are the latest in a series of mass tort claims seeking overtime pay from U.S. businesses in recent years. IBM Corp. last month agreed to pay $65 million to 32,000 technology workers who claimed their jobs were wrongly classified as overtime-exempt.

The pharmaceutical company lawsuits seek overtime wages dating back two to six years, under federal and state statutes of limitations. Other companies affected are Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., AstraZeneca PLC, Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Amgen Inc., Hoffman Larouch, GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Bayer AG.

Some of the companies deny the allegations, while others are reviewing the lawsuits before commenting.

Abby Baron, a spokeswoman for AstraZeneca, said her company adheres to all labor laws. “We intend to defend our position vigorously and we have the utmost confidence in the legal process,” she said.

Pfizer spokesman Bryant Haskins said the company would vigorously contest the lawsuit.

In the case that Schaefer LaRose is part of, federal labor law allows outside sales forces to be exempt from overtime pay in recognition of the unique abilities offered by a skilled sales staff. Schaefer LaRose said she was able to draw on her skills, using her own discretion in how she pitched the company’s products to doctors when she started with Lilly in 1988.

But within a decade, drug companies began carefully scripting sales pitches for fear of competitors’ lawsuits or scrutiny by the Federal Food and Drug Administration.

“They no longer had that freedom for what the exemption was designed,” said New York attorney Charles Joseph, who brought one of the lawsuits. “The job has changed, and it has changed for the worse.”

Schaefer LaRose said her 45-hour work weeks began lengthening as cell phones and e-mail became more prevalent. Two co-workers were chastised by a district manager last spring, she said, for not checking their e-mails during vacations. She also said Lilly does not allow sales reps to log onto the company’s computer system between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., prime hours for calling doctors, which forces reps to do reports on nights and weekends.

“Those things were supposed to simplify our lives. They didn’t,” Schaefer LaRose said.

Lilly spokesman Phil Belt said the company would not respond to any of Schaefer LaRose’s allegations because of the pending lawsuit. But he said the company values its employees and compensates them in accordance with all laws and regulations.

Dana Higgs, another plaintiff who worked for Pfizer for more than 20 years, added that the increasingly long work weeks have had an impact on families, especially single mothers who have been forced to make last-minute child-care arrangements and pay caregivers when called to work overtime.

“What they required of us was unfair,” said Higgs, who lives in Pennsylvania. “My boss told me that I needed to be engaged in business 24/7.”

Not all sales reps support the lawsuits.

Anthony DeMeis, a co-founder of the Pharmaceutical Representative Society of New York, said it was unfortunate that some people are looking for ways to get more money from their employers. He said he doesn’t know of many other jobs that offer college grads $60,000 to $80,000 a year with a free car and free cell phone.

“Everyone I know who does their job well works 60 or more hours a week,” DeMeis said. “The harder you work, the more work you make for yourself. I think they’re getting paid for overtime, through the bonuses they’re getting.”

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.

By Molly Selvin, LA Times Staff Writer
December 1, 2006

Drug company agents, who say they routinely work 60-hour weeks visiting doctors’ offices, said Thursday that they had sued Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and six other drug companies for failing to pay overtime.

The lawsuits, which could involve tens of thousands of U.S. employees, add the pharmaceutical industry to other sectors that have been accused of giving rank-and-file workers managerial-like job titles to avoid paying overtime.

The suits follow Pfizer’s announcement Tuesday that it will lay off a fifth of its U.S. sales staff, underscoring concern about an industrywide retrenchment as drug firms face pressure to cut costs.

The suits are similar to dozens of claims filed in recent years against major retailers, insurers and other employers. Lawyers for the plaintiffs are also readying a second group of suits against big drug makers, alleging they have discriminated against older representatives.

The claims by pharmaceutical agents were made in complaints filed in recent weeks in state and federal courts in New York, New Jersey and California. The cases have all been moved to federal courts.

The suits contend the companies improperly designated the agents exempt from laws requiring overtime for employees who work more than 40 hours a week. Under federal law, only employees in certain occupational categories — including managers, professionals and outside sales representatives — aren’t entitled to overtime.

The plaintiffs contend that the drug agents don’t qualify as sales representatives because the doctors they visit aren’t actually buying anything from them, said Charles Joseph, an attorney for the workers. Instead, he said, the agents are basically “marketing or promotional people. A large part of their job is to drive and drop off samples at the doctor’s office.”

The complaints seek back pay and damages for current and former employees.

Drug company executives denied the contentions. “We’re obviously aware of the lawsuits,” said Pfizer spokesman Bryant Haskins. “We don’t believe they have any merit and we will vigorously defend that position.”

The other drug companies are AstraZeneca, Amgen Inc., Eli Lilly & Co., Hoffman-Laroche Inc., GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer.

The lawsuits are the latest in a wave of litigation accusing companies of violating state and federal pay laws. On Nov. 22, IBM Corp. agreed to pay $65 million to settle claims that it illegally denied overtime pay to 32,000 workers who install and maintain computers. Other recent multimillion-dollar settlements have centered on overtime claims brought by stockbrokers, insurance claims adjusters and retail store managers.

“This is still a growth business,” said Ken Sulzer, a Los Angeles attorney who has defended employers in many such cases.

The drug company lawsuits come as the industry grapples with market shifts that may marginalize the familiar platoons of sample-toting agents, said Robert Goldberg, vice president at the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest.

“It’s going to be less point-of-service sales and more through e-mail and videoconferences and podcasts” as well as through partnerships with managed-care plans, he said.

Companies’ Violation of Federal and State Labor Laws Affects Tens of Thousands of Employees

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Current and former employees of eight drug industry titans – AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Hoffman Laroche, GlaxoSmithKline, and Bayer– are suing the pharmaceutical companies in federal and state courts across the country charging the drug corporations with failure to pay overtime wages in violation of federal and state labor laws.

Plaintiffs in the suit against Bayer filed this week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, and the other lawsuits are represented by the Los Angeles based-firm of Kingsley & Kingsley, APC and the New York law firm of Joseph and Herzfeld, LLP

The drug companies operate in all fifty states, and employ more than half a million workers; the proposed classes in the combined lawsuits include tens of thousands of pharmaceutical representatives throughout the United States.

“We will seek to prove that thousands of employees from the major drug companies are being denied their overtime pay,” charged Eric Kingsley of Kingsley & Kingsley. “They work very long hours, 55-60 hours a week and sometimes even more than that.”

“Our lawsuit alleges that although the drug companies classified these representatives as exempt, depriving them of overtime compensation, they are not exempt under federal and state laws,” explained Charles Joseph of Joseph & Herzfeld, LLP. “Although the companies have claimed that the representatives are salespersons and therefore not protected by the overtime laws, they actually don’t sell anything.”

The lawsuits, filed in state and federal courts in New York, New Jersey and California, charge that the companies unlawfully characterize these representatives as “exempt” under the Fair Labor Standards Act and other federal and state labor laws in order to deprive them of overtime pay.

“The suits have been filed as class actions as individual employees often lack the financial resources to vigorously prosecute a lawsuit against a huge corporation,” Joseph explained.

The law firms have set up a website: www.pharmarepovertime.com and a toll-free number: 888-500-8469 for current and former pharmaceutical company employees who are interested in joining the lawsuit.

“These workers are entitled to protection under federal and state overtime pay laws,” explained Kingsley. “Our lawsuits allege that the corporations are trying to avoid paying overtime wages by providing fancy sounding titles like Specialty Health Care Representative or Professional Health Care Consultant to workers who are entitled to overtime pay under the law.”

Dana Higgs, a plaintiff in the suit against Pfizer, started with the company in Pennsylvania in 1984 and worked there for more than 20 years. “What they required of us was unfair. My boss told me that I needed to be engaged in business 24/7. We always had to work more than 40 hours a week – very often 60 or more — but I never received overtime pay.”

The plaintiffs’ declarations describe how their jobs have changed dramatically over the years. In the past, the representatives had the freedom to use skills in marketing the drugs. In the last several years, perhaps because of lawsuits over drug marketing and increasing FDA scrutiny, the company made the representatives use carefully memorized scripts.

Higgs, a single mother, also explained that unpaid overtime has a disparate impact on women with children who have to pay caregivers while receiving no additional compensation themselves. “Last minute overtime demands often left me unable to make childcare arrangements or to get my child to school on time,” she said.

“We believe the evidence will show that all of these multi-billion dollar corporations failed to comply with their basic obligation to pay their employees fairly and in accordance with the law,” stated Kingsley.

The plaintiffs are asking federal and state courts in New York, New Jersey and California to issue injunctions requiring AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Hoffman Laroche, Bayer and GlaxoSmithKline to provide overtime pay to eligible employees as well as compensation and damages to current and former employees who were denied overtime.

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 30 (UPI) — Present and former U.S. sales reps for eight major drug companies have filed suit against the companies for overtime pay allegedly due.

The plaintiffs — including tens of thousands of pharmaceutical representatives — charge that AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Hoffman Laroche, GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer failed to compensate them for overtime work in violation of federal and state labor laws.

“We will seek to prove that thousands of employees from the major drug companies are being denied their overtime pay,” said Eric Kingsley of Kingsley & Kingsley, one of two law firms representing plaintiffs. “They work very long hours, 55 to 60 hours a week and sometimes even more than that.”

According to the plaintiffs, the defendant drug companies claim that their salespeople are exempt from the labor laws on overtime pay, but the plaintiffs counter that “they actually don’t sell anything.”

The lawsuits were filed in state and federal courts in New York, New Jersey and California.

News of the lawsuits comes on the heels of Pfizer’s announcement Wednesday that it plans to cut its sales force by 20 percent as part of a restructuring plan.