A federal judge in Georgia is allowing field managers for AT&T’s BellSouth unit to team up to sue the company over its overtime policy. U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes has certified a class of field managers who claim BellSouth denied them overtime wages since 2007. The lawsuit is seeking about $1 billion in unpaid wages.

BellSouth argued that a class-action shouldn’t be allowed because the field managers each have very different duties. It’s at least the third time a class action filed by field managers targeting AT&T’s subsidiaries has been certified. Two decisions in 2009 and 2010 cleared the way for similar lawsuits against AT&T subsidiaries in Connecticut and California.

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution