RBS Citizens Financial Group to pay $11.5 million in collective action lawsuit
Plaintiffs in six consolidated class and collective action lawsuits asked a Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday to approve an $11.5 million settlement. The lawsuit, filed in March, alleged RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and two of its subsidiaries failed to compensate bank employees for hours worked in excess of 40 hours.
The bank workers, including assistant branch managers, tellers and customer service professionals across the country, claim they were incorrectly categorized as exempt, salaried employees, and thus denied overtime pay. According to The Contributor, such misclassifications are most commonly carried out when companies list workers as contractors to avoid paying for their benefits. In rare cases when the cost of paying overtime actually exceeds that of providing benefits, employers may attempt to classify workers as exempt.
According to the lawsuit, Citizens and its subsidiaries were accused of modifying hours that exceeded 40, prohibiting employees from reporting hours, providing comp time instead of overtime compensation and requiring that employees work through unpaid breaks.
If companies wish to avoid lawsuits that are costly in terms of both time and money, they need to maintain compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Using accurate time and attendance software can ensure that non-exempt employees are not exceeding 40 hours of work in one week.
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