Lawsuit Alleges Telstar Cable Communications’ Use of ‘Charge Backs’ Knocked Installers’ Pay Below the Federal Minimum

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Two plaintiffs allege in a proposed collective action that Telstar Cable Communications, Inc. and two individuals with control over the company failed to pay current and former cable installers proper wages. 

At the center of the lawsuit is the defendants’ alleged use of “charge backs,” through which installers who did not complete a Time Warner Cable installation during a designated timeframe would have $20 docked from their paychecks. Similarly, installers who were unable to be at a customer’s home or business during a timeframe specified by the defendants, as well as those who did not complete an install to Telstar’s exact specifications, would also be “fined,” the lawsuit claims. The case alleges that as a result of these charge backs, the plaintiffs were sometimes paid less than the federal hourly minimum wage. 

“[The plaintiffs] and other co-workers rarely, or in some cases never, received a paycheck from [the defendants] in which [the defendants] did not deduct some type of ‘charge back’ from their paychecks,” the complaint states, claiming Telstar in effect artificially lowered installers wages through its use of charge backs.

The 16-page lawsuit further claims the plaintiffs received less than the federal minimum wage during their two-week training period upon being hired. The complaint also claims that the defendants’ installers, who were paid on a piece-rate basis, often worked between 12 and 17 hours per day without being paid time-and-a-half overtime.