J.J. Little & Associates, a boutique litigation firm based in Los Angeles, will have to pay a former secretary of the law firm’s partner $80,000 for unpaid overtime wages, according to a recent jury award.
Plaintiff Noemi B. alleges that she had begun working for the law firm back in 2010. She was allegedly told when she started that her pay rate would be $1,000 per week and that she would not have to work in the evening. However, as her time at the law firm increased, her work load and hours also increased. And her boss, and managing partner, James L., moreover, did not pay her any overtime wages for the increased workload and time, she alleges.
Noemi alleges her job was an all-consuming position. She had to work an occasional 20-hour workday which also included running personal errands for James.
According to her claims, she also alleges that James would send texts and calls on nights and weekends. When she wouldn’t respond moreover, he would then send “increasingly aggressive” messages, she contends.
In the overtime lawsuit, Noemi also claimed of the work relationship that James would “touch her leg and backside in public and frequently expressed an interest in a romantic relationship.” Parties have alleged, however, that the sexual harassment claim had been settled back in March.
According to the plaintiff, James L. had also allowed her to use a 2010 Audi for personal use and on a temporary basis as compensation in lieu of bonus pay.
The jury consisted of two men and eight women who had deliberated in the Los Angeles Superior Court for two hours Friday.
In addition to the damage award, James L. would be responsible for paying thousands of dollars to cover Noemi’s attorney fees.
A managing partner of the law firm, James had represented himself throughout the trial. He contended that when the plaintiff first started and was paid the $1,000 per week, it was because she was listed as an executive at the firm.
He argued that her responsibilities included dictating and overseeing the work of other employees, organizing her own workload and hours, and controlling payroll tasks and human resources.
He says of Noemi that she had worked with him before. According to the managing partner, she knew of the long hours that she would be expected to work during trial. He also asserts that when the discussion began of her coming back to the firm, there was no talk of her having a set weekday schedule, as Noemi asserts.
Noemi argued that her nominal position as an “executive” at the firm and the fixed salary she was paid does not exclude or exempt her from entitlement to overtime wages. California law forbids parties from contracting out of the obligation to pay overtime wages to qualified employees, she argued.
Noemi claimed that James knew her employment agreement would benefit both the law firm and himself by avoiding paying her overtime wages.
Noemi’s Overtime Wages Lawsuit is Case No. BC571188 in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of Los Angeles.
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