Merrill Lynch Hit With Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit

Two New York residents have filed an unpaid overtime class action lawsuit, alleging their former employer Merrill Lynch required them to work more than 40 hours per week but did not properly compensate them for the extra time.

Plaintiffs Celeste O. and Derrick C. were Merrill Lynch employees participating in a months-long training program for new financial advisers. Merrill Lynch had classified these trainees as non-exempt employees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, acknowledging that those employees were eligible for overtime payment for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week.

According to the Merrill Lynch unpaid overtime class action lawsuit, the training program was scheduled for 37.5 hours per week. However, Derrick and Celeste both allege Merrill Lynch allowed and encouraged trainees to spend additional time working outside the office.

When adding up work-at-home time in addition to the training program, Derrick’s work hours totaled about 80 hours and Celeste’s total hours were about 60 hours per week. And they allege all Class Members had similar experiences. According to the class action lawsuit, Merrill Lynch failed to keep track of the trainees’ overtime hours and did not pay the trainees overtime wages for any work done in excess of 40 hours per week.

The Fair Labor Standards Act

The FLSA requires certain employers to pay overtime wages to certain employees for all work hours in excess of 40 hours per week. This requirement applies only to certain types of workers, and other types of workers are exempt from that requirement.

Historically, these exempt employees have been those holding white-collar positions that came with higher pay, more job security, better bargaining power, and greater potential for promotion, so it was presumed that those employees did not need the protections of the FLSA as much.

However, more recent reports have revealed some exempt workers are being expected to work large amounts of overtime hours without overtime compensation. Where those workers have particularly low salaries, their resulting corresponding hourly wage sometimes approaches or dips below the federal minimum hourly wage. Therefore in March 2014, the Obama administration directed the Department of Labor to revise its FLSA overtime rules to provide greater protection for these white-collar workers.

New York and California Employment Law

Celeste and Derrick are proposing to represent respectively two sub-classes of plaintiffs, the California class and the New York class. Celeste, in addition to her FLSA claim, is bringing claims under California employment law on behalf of the California class.

California wage and hour law requires overtime compensation for hours worked in excess of eight per day as well as for those in excess of 40 per week. Celeste specifically claims violations of California employment law for nonpayment of overtime, untimely payment, failure to keep records of hours worked, and violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law.

They seek compensation for the unpaid wages at one-and-a-half times the regular rate for hours worked in excess of 40 per week or eight per day and at twice the regular rate for hours worked in excess of 12 per day, as well as attorneys’ fees.

On behalf of the New York class, Derrick is bringing separate claims under New York employment law, alleging nonpayment of overtime and failure to supply plaintiffs with wage statements. He seeks compensation for the unpaid wages, liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees, and statutory damages of $100 for each workweek Merrill Lynch failed to provide the New York plaintiffs with accurate wage statements.

The Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit is Case No. 2:15-cv-02213, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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