Does your firm pay for overtime? Apple doesn't

Bangalore: There may be instances when you may have to work overtime to meet your company's deadlines. While some companies pay for this extra effort, others like Apple don't, as alleged by one of its former employees. The employee has filed a class action lawsuit against Apple, complaining that the Mac maker forces its employees to work long hours without overtime pay, reports the Information Week.

The employee, Kenyon Zahner said that he usually worked for more than 40 hours per week at an Apple location in Florida. But, he alleged that the company did not pay him extra, which is required as per the state law for non-managerial employees. Zahner's attorneys in the legal documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Florida stated that "The defendant knowingly had the plaintiff work off the clock and did not pay the plaintiff overtime." Apple is yet to file a formal response in this case.

The lawsuit does not specify Zahner's designation at Apple and it is also unclear if he worked at a corporate office or at an Apple Store retail outlet. It also provides little background information about Zahner. Internet records list a Mac technician named Kenyon Zahner, who now appears to be a resident of Costa Rica.

Zahner's attorneys claim that they are still not sure about the number of extra hours that he needs to be compensated for, because his employment records are still with Apple. They're seeking unspecified damages on behalf of Zahner and other Apple employees in Florida who were allegedly cheated out of overtime pay.
These lawsuits can make technology companies shell out huge amount of cash to compensate the employee. In the previous instances, technology giant IBM had to dole out $65 million in 2006 for similar claims. In 2005, Outsourcer Computer Sciences paid $24 million to settle the litigation.

While in the U.S., most of the employees can claim compensation for overtime work under the Federal Law, in India the law lies in the hands of the employer as per Section 14 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. Are Indian employees ready to work overtime without the extra pay?