An electric vehicle battery manufacturer in Glendale, Kentucky, is being sued for allegedly violating labor laws. Employees of BlueOval SK say they're not receiving overtime pay for work performed outside their scheduled shifts.
According to the lawsuit filed Sept. 24, hourly workers are required to put on sanitary footwear and other personal protective equipment prior to the start of each shift.
After suiting up, plaintiffs say walking to their work stations takes up to 15 minutes each day given the size of the manufacturing facility. Once there, additional pre-shift work is performed to ensure the machines are working properly.
"Despite performing significant pre-shift work, Plaintiffs and Class Members were not paid until the start of their scheduled shifts. Defendant's policy was to pay for scheduled time and not the actual time that was worked," the complaint alleges. "As a result of the policy of only paying for scheduled time rather than actual time worked, all overtime compensation due to the Plaintiffs and Class Members was not paid."
Workers also accuse BlueOval SK of altering or rounding their clock-in and clock-out times.
The complaint alleges the company is violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws.
The lawsuit was filed Sept. 24 in federal court in Michigan, which according to the suit, is BlueOval SK's principal place of business.
The lead plaintiffs are former production operator Sean O'Brien and former production technician Randall Moore who left the company in July and June, respectively. They're represented by Houston, TX-based Foty Law Group, which didn't respond to a request for comment.
The complaint seeks a jury trial and its class-action status allows all current and former hourly workers that have been employed at the plant in the past three years to join the lawsuit, as well.
The EV battery maker declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
"We respect the legal process and will cooperate as appropriate," BlueOval SK spokeswoman Mallory Cooke said in a statement.
The lawsuit follows long-running safety complaints by hourly workers and a contested union election.
BlueOval SK is a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and South Korea-based SK On. The company began producing batteries for Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles on Aug. 19 at its sprawling campus off I-65 in Hardin County.
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