LOS ANGELES (CN) - Newegg, the online computer retailer, violates a slew of labor laws, overworks and abuses immigrant workers and orders employees to hack into competitors' computer systems, three former employees claim in Superior Court.
The plaintiffs say Newegg hires a disproportionate number of Chinese tech workers, many with false promises that Newegg would help them get green cards, then forces them to work egregiously long hours without breaks.
"These employees were so profoundly overworked that they were frequently seen napping at their work stations," the complaint states.
Two plaintiffs worked as internal auditors evaluating Newegg's accounting practices and checking for compliance with the Sarbanes Oxley Act; one was a human resources director. The plaintiffs - Scott W. Curry, Mary Lynn Peterson, and Shawnda Marie Grice - claim that Newegg required certain employees to "hack" into the websites of competitors such as Amazon, "for the purpose of gaining an unfair competitive advantage."
The three say their complaints "fell on deaf ears" and that managers retaliated by overloaded them with work to try to force them to resign.
They seek punitive damages for more than 30 causes of action, including discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation and fraud.
Their attorney, Steven Zelig with Brentwood Legal Services, was unavailable for comment on Tuesday.
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