Merrill's new overtime pay rules in CA
5 RepliesJump to last post
Does anyone out there know what changes Merrill made to its overtime pay rules in Cali as a result of that $37 million settlement over claims it was short changing brokers in overtime pay? A lot of employment lawyers seem to think similar suits will follow in other parts of the country, so whatever changes merrill made in California might end up being applied nationally...
also, have any Merrill brokers outside of California started their own suit or contacted lawyers about a class action suit for overtime pay?
Correct me if I’m wrong (since I’m in Georgia), but California has 2 sets of rules on earning overtime pay. One is that you have to work over 40 hours per week (standard for most of the country). Second is, that if you work over 8 hours per day, the amount over 8 hours is considered overtime - even if you only work part-time.
yes, but the law that Merrill was allegedly abusing was a federal law – the Fair Labor Standards Act. Last year, that Act was changed to exempt “white-collar” workers earnings more than $100,000 a year from overtime provisions. But that $100,000 has to include at least $455 a week in salary (not commissions) and the employee has to perform at least some “administrative” duties. I wonder what Merrill has done, or will do, to its employment relationships with brokers to make sure that they either earn that much in salary, or perform some adminstrative duties, so that it does not get sued on this basis again…I know it has changed some things in California but the firm has not said what…
I have heard that some Merrill brokers have filed overtime pay claims in New York. Anyone know about this? And have brokers from any other firms considered filing overtime pay claims?
[quote=broker-editor]yes, but the law that Merrill was allegedly abusing was a federal law -- the Fair Labor Standards Act. Last year, that Act was changed to exempt "white-collar" workers earnings more than $100,000 a year from overtime provisions. But that $100,000 has to include at least $455 a week in salary (not commissions) and the employee has to perform at least some "administrative" duties. I wonder what Merrill has done, or will do, to its employment relationships with brokers to make sure that they either earn that much in salary, or perform some adminstrative duties, so that it does not get sued on this basis again....I know it has changed some things in California but the firm has not said what...[/quote]
If they get rid of a half the sales assistants and make the brokers process their own paperwork that would definitely be administrative work.