Chase Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit Plaintiffs Can’t Force Class Arbitration

In a Chase unpaid overtime lawsuit, a federal judge held that Chase workers would not be able to convert individual arbitrations into classwide arbitration.

The judge’s decision is built on the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that Chase is not obligated to allow classwide arbitration.

The California judge in charge of this Chase unpaid overtime lawsuit denied a motion from the Chase workers. The workers are a combination of managers and loan officers for the former J.P. Morgan & Chase Company.

Indeed, the waiver decision from the Ninth Circuit in Ernst & Young prevents classwide arbitration from being enforceable. “Even if this court concludes that, under Morris, the waiver provision in the [binding arbitration agreement] is unenforceable, the express language of the provision unambiguously conveys that the parties did not agree to authorize arbitration of class claims,” wrote U.S. District Judge Phillip Gutierrez.

This Chase unpaid overtime lawsuit, a proposed class action, was initially filed in September 2014.

The lead plaintiff for the lawsuit is Ron Henry, and would include nonexempt Chase employees who had been denied overtime when working over 40 hours in a week.

The case was moved to California court in May 2015, and subsequently joined with a similar Chase unpaid overtime lawsuit. That lawsuit had been pending since it was initially filed in March 2011. At this point, the Chase unpaid overtime lawsuit added six additional named plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs ended up withdrawing their claims in order to file individual arbitrations.

California Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuits

For employees and former employees of companies who, like the workers involved in this Chase unpaid overtime lawsuit, believe they have been paid unfair overtime wages, there are federal and state laws put in place. These laws are set to ensure the fair treatment of workers.

However, if a worker does not know about the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or the protections that it offers, their employer can illegally take advantage of them, denying them proper overtime pay, breaks, or classification.

Some workers may be unaware of the FLSA rules put in place to protect them and their rights as workers. Others, however, may choose not to pursue litigation or complaints, afraid that their employers will retaliate against them if they speak up about FLSA violations,like unpaid overtime wages, in the workplace.

However, FLSA rules that protect workers’ rights also protect workers from any retaliation by their employers based on wage and hour complaints.

If you have worked for an employer like Chase that has failed to follow the Fair Labor Standards Act or the state labor laws of California, including unpaid overtime wages like in this Chase unpaid overtime lawsuit, you may be able to either join a wage and hour class action lawsuit or file a lawsuit individually.

The Chase Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit is Ron Henry et al. v. JPMorgan Chase & Co. et al., Case No. 2:15-cv-03895, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Join a Free California Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay within the past 3 years in California, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone.

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