Mercedes-Benz Sued by U.S. Workers for Overtime

Mercedes-Benz Sued by U.S. Workers for Overtime

    TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Daimler's Mercedes-Benz unit was sued by U.S. workers at its Vance, Ala., plant, claiming they are owed overtime wages because the company made them cover breaks for managers, Bloomberg News reports.

The plant builds Mercedes' SUVs, including the M-Class, R-Class and GL-Class, none of which have been fast sellers in this recessionary economy and with the waning popularity of sport utes.

The complaint, filed Wednesday in federal court in Alabama, was brought as a class action case on behalf of 100 workers. The workers claim they attended meetings prior to the start of their shifts to hear updates from management, among other unpaid duties, in violation of federal labor laws. Hourly employees who work more than 40 hours a week are supposed to be paid 1 1/2 times their regular wage, according to the complaint cited by Bloomberg.

Photo by Mercedes-Benz

2009 Mercedes-Benz M-Class

Michelle Krebs:  is Editor-in-Chief of AutoObserver.com. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.