Every Tecmo Employee Sues Over Labor Violations

As previously rumored, more Tecmo employees have filed suit against the Japanese developer in the wake of Ninja Gaiden II director Tomonobu Itagaki's resignation and legal action regarding unpaid bonuses.

However, this most recent lawsuit far, far exceeds the scope of earlier rumors.

Said to represent all of Tecmo's 300 employees, the latest alleges the company of gross labor violations. According to the text of the suit, as translated by Kotaku, Tecmo instituted an illegal "flexible hours" scheme four years ago to avoid paying overtime.

The suit states that Tecmo has routinely ignored over 100 overtime hours per month since the system was implemented, and has falsified documents to cover this up.

The lawsuit itself was filed by two Tecmo employees, one of whom, Hiroaki Ozawa, is the head of the "Tecmo Labor Division." Based on these claims, officials are investigating possible labor law violations.

The filing asks for 8.3 million yen ($77,000) in payment, though it is not clear if that is per-employee or a lump sum for the entire company. As splitting that figure among 300 employees results in such a paltry number, it is likely that it is a per-employee damage.