Merrill Lynch to Pay $4.9M to Settle Claims They Failed to Pay Salaried Advisors Overtime Pay

Merrill Lynch is set to pay $4.9 million to settle allegations from a class of current and former salaried advisors who said they were wrongfully denied overtime pay according to court filings. A Florida State judge signed off on the settlement which will be distributed to so-called financial solutions advisors or FSAs who worked at the bank for the past three years, according to the filings. FSAs are typically Merrill Lynch broker trainees who work with mass affluent customers at the firm’s consumer bank-based Merrill Edge unit. The plaintiffs, led by a former FSA, alleged that Merrill failed to pay for all the overtime the FSAs and trainees logged beyond their 40-hour work weeks. The plaintiff filed her lawsuit on December 3rd in Broward County, Florida after almost a year of negotiation and mediation with the warehouse.

A Merrill Lynch spokesperson refused to comment on the case.

Both sides seem to agree that the settlement represents a “fair, adequate, and reasonable compromise,” according to emotion recently filed requesting the judge to sign off.

Current and former Merrill FSAs that meet the class eligibility requirements do not have to participate in the settlement and may opt-out and pursue claims of their own, according to the motion. Any unpaid funds from the settlement amount will be returned to Merrill, the motion said. The lead plaintiff’s lawyers are scheduled to receive 1/3 of the settlement as attorney fees, in accordance with the motion.

Overtime lawsuits tend to be unusual for traditional brokers who are paid a portion of the fees and commissions that they generate but are more commonly brought by their salaried counterparts and client associates.

In 2016, Merrill agreed to pay $14,000,000 to settle a class claim that it forced around 9500 financial advisors to work 60 hours or more per week without overtime. The warehouse in 2019 agreed to pay $550,000 to settle claims that it failed to pay overtime to 51 compliance personnel who are responsible for reviewing broker emails. Other major brokerage firms in the past have been targeted by attorneys seeking to file FLSA lawsuits against them. These include UBS and Wells Fargo.

About the Fair Labor Standards Act

 The Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA governs overtime compensation requirements of covered employees for nonexempt employees. Nonexempt employees, or those who meet certain job classifications, must be paid time and a half compared to the regular rate of pay for any overtime that they work during a 40-hour work week. In some cases, an employer will label a worker as exempt, but this worker is not technically exempt from FLSA overtime standards. In that case, the worker could file a lawsuit to recover damages related to lost overtime pay and punitive damages related to failing to properly compensate the employee.

Talk to a Tampa FL employment law attorney today 

The Tampa, FL FLSA attorneys at Florin Gray represent the interests of workers who have been denied their proper overtime rate of pay. Call our Tampa employment lawyers today to schedule an appointment and we can begin discussing your next steps toward filing a lawsuit right away.

Source:

advisorhub.com/merrill-to-pay-4-9-million-to-settle-overtime-suit-from-salaried-advisors-trainees/