http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2007/06/05/cibctellersuit.html
Now this is in a financial institution, and it is with staff not paid as well as most IT people ($31k Canadian for 10 years exp, at the level of head teller). And that may have an influence.
The bank’s position is that their official HR policy is that they pay OT, no questions asked.
The teller’s position is that she has worked at 12 branches in 10 years, and in almost every case, she was asked to stay late, come in early, work an evening etc., on an ongoing basis. And that when submitted for OT on these occasions it was rejected.
It is alleged that bank branch manager policy is different than corporate policy.
Similar lawsuits in the US have been successful against Walmart and a few big banks.
I’d be interested in hearing whether this is common in the IT world. My company has a policy and I stick by it – we pay for OT.
James