Wipro’s legal tangle over not paying overtime wages to an employee in the US may snowball into a bigger problem with the lawyer for the plaintiff saying he is getting calls from disgruntled current and former employees.

“We are continuing to receive calls from present and former Wipro workers who are confirming this practice (not being paid compensation for overtime work), and continue to be interested in hearing from others who have been underpaid by Wipro in violation of California law,” Richard Kellner, the attorney representing Suri Payala, told BusinessLine in an e-mail reply. Kellner did not specify the number of calls.

In a class-action suit filed before the Superior Court of California on March 30, Payala accused Wipro of failing to compensate him and others for overtime hours. The suit alleged that Wipro’s business model is “extremely profitable” as it does not pay its employees for work in excess of 40 hours per week as required by California law.

According to court documents, Wipro employs 2,000 people in California. Kellner said all current and former Wipro personnel employed at some time in California, are potentially part of this suit.

A Wipro spokesperson declined to comment.

comment COMMENT NOW