Wells Fargo Shells Out For Alleged Overtime Violations

Wells Fargo & Co. has
agreed to pay $12.8 million to settle a class action lawsuit charging that the
bank improperly classified certain business-systems employees in California and other
states as exempt from overtime, in violation of the federal Fair Labor
Standards Act. The suit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, alleged that Wells Fargo
classified business-systems employees as exempt analysts or consultants, even though
they performed mostly nonexempt work. The settlement covers approximately 4,500
current and former employees who worked for the bank as business systems
consultants or e-business systems consultants between 2001 and 2006.Wells Fargo has denied liability
and says it settled to avoid the expenses and business interference of
protracted litigation.

Paying Overtime: 10 Key Exemption Concepts

Only one thing really matters in the determination as to whether or not an employee is exempt: The duties the employee performs. Learn how to avoid costly, preventable mistakes with our free White Paper, Paying Overtime: 10 Key Exemption Concepts.