Suit alleges Wis.-based Epic Systems owes overtime

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A former employee at Verona-based Epic Systems has filed a class-action lawsuit accusing the health care software company of failing to pay overtime wages to him and about 1,000 other employees.

Evan Nordgren, a former quality-assurance employee at Epic, filed a lawsuit Friday alleging that he and others regularly worked more than 40 hours per week without overtime pay. He said the employees weren’t exempt from overtime pay under state and federal law, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

Nordgren’s attorney, William Parsons, said workers are entitled to overtime pay at time-and-a-half unless they fall under certain exemptions. He said those exemptions don’t apply to the employees in this case.

“Epic’s employees, including entry level or non-technical employees, are entitled to all the pay they worked hard to earn,” Parsons said.

The company said its workers were properly paid because they’re classified as salaried professionals, not hourly workers. It said in a statement the lawsuit “is without merit.”

“State and federal law make it clear that employees in computer-related jobs who primarily test software are appropriately classified as salaried professionals,” the company said. “That is precisely the role our quality assurance team performs.”

Nordgren said he and others regularly worked overtime during a period of three years.

The lawsuit says the exact number of past and present workers affected isn’t known yet but it’s estimated to be more than 1,000 employees.

Parsons declined to say how much money could be involved but said “we believe it’s significant.” The lawsuit seeks unpaid back wages, along with other damages and attorney fees.

The company has about 6,800 employees.

Information from: Wisconsin State Journal, http://www.madison.com/wsj