Many believe that a job in the banking and financial industries is a boon to employees. For some, it is. For many, it is not. These industries are cut-throat and, in order to maximize profits, the cost associated with labor (i.e., employing you) must be minimized. This “squeeze” means that employees are often misclassified as “exempt” in order to avoid paying them overtime, or that hourly employees are not paid for work performed outside the office. This is illegal.
For example, we have represented trainee financial advisors who were classified as exempt during training, even though they were only learning how to be a financial advisor (and otherwise were not performing the role of a financial advisor such that they may be exempt from overtime). This wage-theft issue is particularly troubling because it often means that younger employees are subject to abuse and may be less inclined to complain to their employer for fear of retaliation. If you have been classified as exempt (and paid a salary) during training, you may be owed back wages in the form of unpaid overtime compensation. Alternatively, if you are an hourly-paid employee but study or train at home after-hours or on the weekends but are not paid for that time, this “off-the-clock” work is illegal and you should be paid for it.
We have also represented assistant branch managers who were classified as exempt from overtime despite performing the same job duties as their hourly-paid colleagues who were entitled to overtime, such as helping customers, processing deposits, and performing other teller functions. These are traditionally non-exempt tasks and, if you spend the majority of your time performing them and other manual or hourly-type work, then you are likely a non-exempt employee who should be paid overtime compensation for working more than 40 hours in a week. Your job title, the company’s job description of your position, and even your performance evaluations do not generally determine whether you should be classified as exempt. The law looks at what you actually do and, in most instances, we find that assistant managers are wrongfully classified as exempt and illegally deprived of overtime compensation.
Your work is important. Ensuring that you are properly paid is important to us. If you are owed wages, contact Jason Conway. While we cannot deposit your checks, we will work tirelessly to deposit your unpaid wages.