Former Under Armour analyst suing company for back pay

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A former analyst for Under Armour is suing the Baltimore sportswear giant, alleging he was wrongly classified as a salaried employee and is entitled to overtime pay.

Stephen Brianas claims he and others were hired as analysts by Under Armour to work in the company’s “Brand House,” factory store, wholesale retail and internet sales divisions, according to the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. The analysts provided weekly inventory reports, which involved identifying indicators for store intake and sales, according to the lawsuit.

Brianas, who began working at Under Armour in 2011, alleges the company classified analysts as salaried employees, despite the routine nature of the work, to get around overtime requirements. Brianas and other analysts had strict deadlines and worked 50-to-60 hours a week, including weekends, to finish the work on time, the lawsuit states.

“Although Plaintiffs and other allocation analysts’ job title may raise the inference that they were exempt employees, the title was just a facade,” the lawsuit states, comparing the work to basic data entry.

The lawsuit does not estimate the number of potential plaintiffs and asks a judge to order Under Armour to disclose “individuals who are similarly situated” to Brianas.

An Under Armour spokeswoman said Thursday the company will “fully defend” itself in the litigation.

“We are aware of the plaintiff’s claims and stand behind our employment practices,” she said.

The analysts were scheduled to work a typical Monday-Friday schedule from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a one hour lunch break, according to the complaint. But most weekdays, the analysts worked 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and then six-to-10 hours on the weekends because of the demands of the job and understaffing, according to the complaint.

During Brianas’ tenure, which ended in June, his department rarely had more than two analysts, which was not sufficient to cover the company’s workload, the lawsuits states. Problems with the software that analysts were required to use also forced the workers to work longer hours, the lawsuit states.

For his first two years of employment, Brianas earned $50,000 annually, according to the complaint. In 2013, his salary increased to $55,000 and increased again to $61,000 in 2016, according to the complaint.

Brianas claims he and other analysts should be paid time-and-a-half for every hour they worked beyond the scheduled 40 hours, as their work did not fit any exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Maryland Wage and Hour Law or the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law. He is also seeking liquidated damages equal to or double the total amount of unpaid wages, the lawsuit states.

Benjamin L. Davis III with Law Offices of Peter T. Nicholl in Baltimore, a lawyer for Brianas, did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

The case is Brianas v. Under Armour, Inc., No 1:17-cv-02928-RDB