NEW YORK — Morgan Stanley has agreed to settle a class action overtime pay lawsuit with its client services associates for $4.2 million. The client service associates in this class action are or were part of the company’s New York wealth management branch. They claimed the company and its brokerage subsidiaries denied them proper overtime wages in violation of New York labor laws and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). If the settlement offer receives approval from a New York federal judge, it will end the three-year-old class action.
The Overtime Claim
Morgan Stanley, the world’s largest brokerage firm, and its brokerage subsidiaries were sued in June 2011 in New York by three client service associates. Philip Amador, a former client service associate, was the first to file and was later joined by Sylvester Cetina and Joann Sunkett. Their lawsuit was brought on behalf of themselves and other customer service associates in New York and the rest of the country. According to the lawsuit, Morgan Stanley properly classified its customer service associates as nonexempt, which entitled them to overtime pay when they worked more than 40 hours a week, but allegedly neither Morgan Stanley nor its brokerage subsidiaries paid overtime wages. Morgan Stanley maintains it has not violated any labor laws, but has agreed to settle to avoid extending the already long and expensive legal battle.
The Proposed Settlement
The proposed settlement addresses both the alleged state and federal violations in two separate classes. While only 865 of the nearly 8,300 current and former customer service associates who could have joined the FLSA class actually did, the number of customer service associates who have and will join the state class is still being determined. Class members in the New York state claim may still join the class action. These class members could include any current or former customer service associates who worked at any time at Morgan Stanley’s New York wealth management branches from July 2005 to the date of the settlement. Each class will be allotted a set amount of the $4.2 million settlement, but the amount of each payout will be based on the amount of time each class member was employed with Morgan Stanley.
If you are or were a Morgan Stanley customer service associate in New York, you may be entitled to join the current settlement under the New York state claim. There are strict time deadlines for joining or filing your own lawsuit, so it is important to contact an attorney immediately. Call our top-rated team of overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795 to discuss your rights and options. Or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our experienced legal team will evaluate your case. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.