ObamaCare call center contractor accused of wage theft

The federal contractor that operates ObamaCare call centers was accused of wage theft totaling more than $100 million over five years in complaints filed Monday.

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) brought the complaints with the Department of Labor, alleging that the contractor, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), has been underpaying its workers.

The company employs about 10,000 workers at 11 call centers that help people signing up for ObamaCare or other programs like Medicare, the CWA says.

{mosads}“These complaints provide further evidence that thousands of workers at a majority of GDIT call centers across the nation are systemically underpaid,” CWA President Chris Shelton said in a statement. “That’s why we are calling on the Department of Labor to conduct an enterprise-wide investigation at GDIT.”

The complaint argues that the company is misclassifying workers into a lower pay category that does not match the work they are actually doing.

Monday’s complaint comes in addition to earlier complaints filed in January regarding different call centers operated by the company.

“General Dynamics Information Technology values our people and the work that they perform,” the company said in a statement.

“The company takes seriously our obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Act,” it added. “Our call center employees are not represented by the Communications Workers of America. Similar to other federal contractors, the company is subject to routine compliance reviews and as with any notice received it will engage with the relevant parties including our employees and the Department of Labor.” 

Updated at 4:34 p.m.