Wells Fargo’s Payroll Sales Representatives Sue For Labor Violations
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) September 30, 2016 -- Wells Fargo is facing yet another lawsuit by its employees, this time for failing to lawfully pay its Payroll Sales Representatives. The Class Action Complaint, Cota v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., (Northern District of California Case No. 3:16-cv-5543) filed Thursday in the United States District Court in San Francisco, alleges that Wells Fargo unlawfully classified its Payroll Sales representatives as exempt from the protections of federal and state labor laws. Plaintiffs seek to recover unpaid overtime wages, meal and rest period premium wages, and penalties on behalf of potentially hundreds of Class Members who experienced Wells Fargo’s unlawful practices.
“The complaint alleges that Wells Fargo denies its rank and file employees basic labor protections, including overtime pay and meal and rest breaks,” said Peter Rukin of Rukin Hyland Doria & Tindall LLP, the law firm representing the plaintiffs in the case.
Earlier this month, the Los Angles Times reported that the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a settlement with Wells Fargo following an investigation into reports that the Bank’s employees regularly opened new accounts for customers without their knowledge. As the New York Times has reported, central to the investigation was Wells Fargo’s emphasis on “cross-selling” multiple financial products to the same customer, a practice which generates significant revenue for the Bank and keeps customers connected to Wells Fargo and less likely to utilize a competitor’s products and services.
The court complaint in Cota alleges that, like Wells Fargo’s hourly banking employees involved in that investigation, Payroll Sales Representatives are also subject to extremely demanding cross-selling, contact, and sales benchmarks that force them to work upwards of 60 plus hours a week, but that Wells Fargo pays them nothing for the substantial overtime hours worked. The lawsuit also alleges that the company’s policy is to not provide Class Members with meal and rest breaks during the day, in violation of California law.
The Plaintiffs are represented by Peter Rukin and Rebecca Stephens of Rukin Hyland Doria & Tindall LLP, a San Francisco law firm representing employees in wage and hour litigation. Anyone who is interested in further information regarding the lawsuit should visit http://www.rhdtlaw.com, email Rebecca Stephens at rstephens(at)rhdtlaw(dot)com, or call 415-421-1800.
Peter Rukin, Rukin Hyland Doria & Tindall LLP, +1 415-421-1800, [email protected]
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