Matthew Purushotham
Thu, 02/09/2023
On January 25, 2023, an individual plaintiff filed a collective action in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on behalf of more than 100 fraud investigators working for Wells Fargo. The plaintiff seeks damages arising from the company’s failure to pay them any overtime compensation in accordance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), as well as the Maryland Wage Hour Law (“MWHL”) and Maryland Wage Payment Collection Law (“MWPCL”).
The plaintiff, and others who worked for Wells Fargo, investigated incidents of potential fraud and/or related malfeasance at the direction of management. The plaintiff alleges that Wells Fargo unlawfully designated them as exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the FLSA under the statute’s administrative exemption. Among other requirements, the administrative exemption requires that employees exercise discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance. The plaintiff alleges that he and the other potential class members did not exercise independent judgment in determining: 1) which employees or incidents to investigate, 2) how to conduct their investigations, or 3) the outcomes of their investigations.
Wells Fargo deemed the fraud investigators exempt from any overtime requirements, and paid them no overtime at all. The lawsuit seeks relief, including all unpaid overtime wages due to the plaintiff and others similarly situated under the state and/or federal laws, liquidated damages pursuant to the FLSA, MWHL, and/or MWPCL, and attorneys’ fees and costs. Unlike the FLSA and MWHL, which provide for liquidated damages equal to the amount of unpaid overtime, the MWPCL provides for liquidated damages in an amount not more than three times the amount of pay withheld.
McGillivary Steele Elkin has represented thousands of employees in cases involving employers unlawfully misclassifying workers as exempt from the overtime provisions of state and federal wage and hour laws. If you believe your employer is not paying you the appropriate amount of overtime, contact us at info@mselaborlaw.com.
