Bank of America recently reached an unpaid overtime class action settlement of $1.9 million, which will be split amongst 100 employees in the class.

This settlement, if approved, will put an end to the wage and hour class action lawsuit against Bank of America alleging that the company’s customer service representatives received unfair wages.

This class action lawsuit was brought by Candice Williams on behalf of Bank of America customer service representatives at a California location.

The lawsuit alleges that Bank of America purposely misclassified these workers as administrative employees in order to avoid paying more wages in overtime.

The $1.9 million unpaid overtime class action settlement was reached in May, and both parties are now asking the court to certify the settlement class as well as grant the settlement preliminary approval.

According to the motion, “Williams and her counsel recommend this class settlement because the class members will receive substantial compensation, now, for working overtime hours.”

Williams originally filed the unpaid overtime lawsuit in 2015 in California Superior Court. However, Bank of America removed the case to federal court shortly thereafter.

Williams filed the lawsuit on behalf of customer service representatives known as “dedicated service directors.”

These employees are paid by salary, but often have to work over 40 hours a week.

While the bank classified these employees as administrative and therefore exempt from overtime pay, the lawsuit claims that these positions did not fit the definition of administrative employees that could be exempt.

While the parties reached their settlement deal in May, negotiations of exact terminology continued on until August 18.

The unpaid overtime class action settlement the parties have finally agreed upon allots 72 percent of the money for the class members.

The exact amounts each class member will be awarded are based on annual salary, estimated weekly overtime hours worked, and eligible workweeks.

“This case is a classic example of a case that cries out for class treatment,” read the motion. “The [employees] performed the same work; all were classified as non-exempt; as a result, none were paid premium pay when they worked overtime hours.”

Class members included in the unpaid overtime class action settlement are those who were classified as dedicated service directors, treasury service consultants, or senior treasury service consultants since August 24, 2011.

According to the list of class members from Bank of America, this amounts to 100 employees. The deadline to opt out of unpaid overtime class action settlement is December 12.

25 percent of the unpaid overtime class action settlement will go toward attorneys’ fees. Williams, as the class representative, will receive $15,000 for her role in the litigation.

According to the motion, employees worked 10 hours of unpaid overtime per week, on average, and totaled 12,474 weeks of work during the eligible class period.

Because of this, damages in successful litigation could amount to between $5 million and $6 million.

If you have worked for an employer like Bank of America that may have failed to follow the Fair Labor Standards Act or state labor laws, such as unpaid overtime requirements, you may be able to either join a wage and hour class action lawsuit or file a suit of your own.

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