SAN FRANCISCO LAWFUEL – Legal News Network – Law Jobs, Law News -Counsel for plaintiffs and counsel for defendants announced today that the parties have reached a settlement of the overtime pay class action lawsuit Gerlach v. Wells Fargo & Co., Case No. 05-CV-00585-CW. The settlement, which was preliminarily approved Friday, October 6, 2006, by U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California, resolves all of the named plaintiffs’ and class members’ overtime claims against Wells Fargo in exchange for the payment by defendants of $12.8 million. Current and former employees will be entitled to monetary compensation from a fund created by the settlement.
The suit was filed by plaintiffs on behalf of themselves and approximately 4,500 current and former Wells Fargo employees nationwide, for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), California’s Unfair Competition Law and wage and hour laws, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”). Defendants deny any liability.
The FLSA collective and class action includes all persons who worked for Wells Fargo as Business Systems Consultants or e-Business Systems Consultants in Levels 2-6, at any time between February 9, 2002 and September 2, 2006 in states other than California, as well as people employed in those job positions and levels between August 29, 2001 to September 2, 2006 in California.
Under the terms of the settlement, the employees described above will be entitled to monetary payments, the amount of which will vary based on length of employment with Wells Fargo in a covered position, specific position held, salary, and whether the employee worked in California (where the recovery would be greater) or elsewhere.
Counsel for named plaintiffs and class members are James M. Finberg of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, Todd F. Jackson and Claire Kennedy-Wilkins of Lewis, Feinberg, Renaker & Jackson, P.C., Steven G. Zieff of Rudy, Exelrod & Zieff, LLP, and Robert Ira Spiro of Spiro Moss Barness Harrison & Barge LLP.
