Merrill Lynch has agreed to settle with more than 5,000 broker assistants who filed a class action alleging that the brokerage firm failed to pay them overtime in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The lawsuit alleged that the firm required associates, who assist brokers/financial advisors, to work more than 40 hours a week but failed to pay overtime. Merrill Lynch did pay base salaries to these assistant and the assistants also earned commissions from their assigned brokers.
Merrill Lynch will create a $12 million fund to be used to pay wages, overtime, and attorney fees to the broker assistants. The settlement is not final and must be approved by the court.
Bottom Line for Employers
This is another example of the costly consequence of failing to pay overtime. The good news is that this liability can be avoided. Here's how to start:
- Take time to review the job descriptions and exempt/non-exempt classification of each job category.
- Make sure that the duties and responsibilities in the job description match the job functions that are being performed.
- Correct any classification errors
If you're not sure which job functions are exempt from overtime, check out the Department of Labor Fact Sheet
here. If you need assistance with any of these steps,
contact me or
visit my website.
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