Frequently Asked Questions « Underwriter Overtime

Can I Collect Any Money?

To determine whether you are eligible to collect unpaid back wages, please fill out this Information Sheet and return it to our office. Our team will review that Information Sheet at no charge.

As part of our team’s review process we will not:

Disclose your name to your current or former employer;
Charge you any fee; or
Seek damages on your behalf.

Your name will only be revealed if we commence a lawsuit against your current or former employer and you decide that you wish to file a Consent Form to join that lawsuit. Click here for important information about our potential representation of you.

Our attorney-client relationship with you will start only if we decide to commence a lawsuit against your current or former employer, you decide to participate in it, and we file your Consent Form with the Court, which would cover only the unpaid wage claims listed in the complaint filed with the Court. Even though a formal attorney-client relationship does not start until your consent form is filed, communications with us relating to information or advice concerning your possible claims against your current or former employer will be kept confidential, including any information provided to us in your Information Sheet.

Contacting us to discuss your situation does not automatically qualify you to participate in any lawsuit that may be filed. If we file a lawsuit against your current or former employer, then you will not be a plaintiff in that lawsuit until your Consent Form, if one is submitted to us, has been received, we confirm that you qualify for the lawsuit, and we file your Consent Form with the Court. Any communications with us will be kept confidential.

Are there Any Deadlines?

Yes. Rules called the statutes of limitations may limit the time for which back wages may be recovered, which ultimately reduces the amount of recoverable back wages. If a lawsuit is filed, and you are awarded money under federal law, you will likely be able to collect back wages only for the three years immediately prior to the date of filing your Consent Form once the lawsuit has been commenced. The statute of limitations for damages under state law vary.

Therefore, should you decide to participate in our investigation, we encourage you to contact us as soon as possible. If you want to find out what, if anything, you may be owed, you should Contact our legal team at once and submit at least a completed Information Sheet. Contacting us or submitting any documents, including an Information Sheet or Contact Form, will not form an Attorney-Client Relationship. However, all communications with us about your situation will be kept confidential. If you would like to participate in a lawsuit against your current or former employer for unpaid wages, if any such lawsuit is filed, then you should also submit a Consent Form. If we decide to file a lawsuit in which we believe you are entitled to recover damages, then we would file your Consent Form to seek back wages on your behalf.

However, if you feel that your potential claims against your current or former employer require the immediate filing of a lawsuit, or that you may have claims other than or in addition to the wage and hour claims discussed here, then we encourage you to retain another attorney now to avoid losing those claims as a result of any statute of limitations or other deadline that may extinguish any of your claims or lessen any damages to which you could be entitled.

Click here for important information about our potential representation of you.

How did Financial Institutions Not Pay Overtime Correctly?

The law requires that employees be properly paid for all time they are suffered or permitted to work. Our investigation has shown that Financial Institutions wrongly classified underwriters, commercial underwriters, and similar positions as “exempt,” which means such employees were paid only a salary and did not receive overtime compensation.

There is no doubt that the law requires employers to pay their employees for all the time that those employees work. Some companies do not pay overtime properly in order to save money, expecting that they can get away with it. Faced with the high cost of labor and overtime, some companies try to squeeze as much work from employees without having to pay them overtime when possible.

Some companies who violate the law are hopeful that if they can hide the violation and not make it too obvious to employees, by the time a lawsuit starts, they can save themselves more money than a lawsuit will cost. But, as the Department of Labor regulations make clear, that does not make such practices legal.

What Types of Jobs or Job Titles are Involved?

Job duties, not titles, determine whether you are entitled to recover unpaid wages. The general types of job duties that require payment of overtime compensation are those that are similar to the duties performed by underwriters, commercial underwriters, and similar positions employed by Financial Institutions. For example, all current and former employees whose primary job duty related to approving loans, evaluating whether to issue loans to individual loan applicants and/or evaluating loan applications under credit guides and approving loans if they meet standards, and who were classified as exempt by any Financial Institution at any time during the last six years,* will generally qualify to participate in this class action, regardless of job title.

Additionally, all current and former employees whose primary job duties related to approving loans, evaluating whether to issue loans to commercial loan applicants and/or evaluating loan applications under credit guides and approving loans if they meet standards, and who were classified as exempt by any Financial Institution at any time during the last six years,* will generally qualify to participate in this class action, regardless of job title.

* The number of years that an individual’s claims will cover varies depending on the state in which the individual was employed as an underwriter or commercial underwriter. The six year example is based upon the New York State statute of limitations for the potential claims. Other state statutes of limitations vary and may be shorter than the six years allowed in New York State. Potential claims under federal law may go back as far as three years.

What if I knew I was Not Going to be Paid for my Overtime?

That does not matter – you still need to be paid for the work you performed. The regulations require that you be paid for all time you are permitted to work. If you work the time, you are to be paid for it, even if you agreed to work, and even if you did not expect to be paid for the work.

What if I Don’t have any Time Records?

You don’t need your time records to be able to recover money. The law requires employers, including Financial Institutions, to keep accurate records of the number of hours an employee works. If the records are either not accurate or not in existence, your reasonable estimate of the number of hours you worked is taken as true. This means that the amount you get is calculated by your reasonable estimate of the hours you worked, not by what the Financial Institutions thinks the employees worked.

Am I Entitled to Unpaid Wages Even if I was Paid a Salary?

Yes. The fact that you are paid a salary does not matter. If you worked over 40 hours a week and do not fall into one of the several narrow legal classification exemptions, then you must be paid premium overtime compensation at a rate of time and one-half your regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 per week, even if you are paid salary. Your hourly rate for hours over 40 is calculated by dividing the amount you were paid in that week by 40 and multiplying that number by one and one-half. In this instance, our investigation has shown that Financial Institutions wrongly classified their underwriters, commercial underwriters, and similar positions as “exempt.” These employees, although paid a salary, were nonetheless supposed to be paid overtime for the weeks where those employees worked over 40 hours.

What is the Difference between a “Party Plaintiff” and a “Named Plaintiff?”

A “party plaintiff” is a participant whose Consent Form is filed with the Court if and when a lawsuit is commenced. A “named plaintiff” is a party plaintiff whose role in the litigation may potentially be more active than the other “party plaintiffs.” However, all plaintiffs may be expected to participate in pre-trial discovery or be asked to assist with the lawsuit. The named plaintiff(s)’ name is on the caption of the lawsuit and he or she is a representative of the party plaintiffs and all other persons similarly situated.

Do I Need to Pay any Money?

No. There is absolutely no cost to you to participate in this investigation or to discuss your situation and possible claims with us.

You will also not be charged any money upfront to participate in any lawsuit that we may ultimately file. Any legal fees would be dependent on the outcome of a lawsuit, if one is filed. If we prevail in any lawsuit, then any legal fees will be paid by your current or former employer, or approved by the Court and be paid out of a settlement fund. Therefore, while legal fees might reduce the total amount of funds potentially received by all the party plaintiffs, any legal fee will not be paid by you personally. If there is no recovery, then you are not obligated to pay any fee or cost.

If a lawsuit is filed and money damages or other benefits are awarded to the employees, then we will ask the Court to award us our legal fees and expenses. Typically, if a case settles, a portion of any settlement is approved by the Court to be paid to us to cover our attorney fees. Costs of the lawsuit are also typically paid out of the settlement fund. In the case that any lawsuit goes to trial, then we would ask the Court to award to us our fees and costs from the damages determined by a final verdict. In no case would you be asked to spend your own money for attorney fees or costs. You won’t have to pay these fees and expenses out-of-pocket. If the Court grants the lawyers’ request, the fees and expenses would be either deducted from any money obtained for the class or paid separately by your current or former employer. To the extent fees and costs are paid from a settlement fund, the class members’ share of the fund would be reduced.

If money damages or benefits are obtained as a result of a settlement or trial, then, if you are eligible to receive a portion of those money damages or benefits, you would be notified about how to participate. We do not know how long such a process would take.

Should I be Afraid to Participate in this Investigation or Lawsuit?

No. If you would like to talk to one of our attorneys handling this investigation, at no charge or obligation to you, then, please contact us. We will not share any information from you with anyone else, including your current or former employer. If we do commence a lawsuit against your current or former employer, and you complete and we file your Consent Form, then, at that time, your current or former employer may know your name. However, your current or former employer is not permitted by law to take any adverse employment action against you because you participated in this Investigation or possible lawsuit.

Should I Let Others Know About the Investigation?

Yes. It’s important and helpful to our legal team that all current and former underwriters, commercial underwriters, and similar positions of any Financial Institution learn about the investigation as soon as possible because of the deadlines that may apply to any owed back wages.

Please let anyone else who might be interested in this potential Investigation or possible Lawsuit know about it so that they do not lose the opportunity to receive unpaid wages.

Do I Qualify for this Investigation?

Our Investigation involves persons who worked as underwriters, commercial underwriters, and similar positions for any Financial Institution during the last six years and who worked over 40 hours in a week without receiving overtime compensation. Therefore, we are most interested in speaking with current and former underwriters, commercial underwriters, and similar positions who worked for a Financial Institution during the last six years. However, the number of years that an individual’s claims will cover varies depending on the state in which the individual was employed. The six year example is based upon the New York State statute of limitations for the potential claims. Other state statutes of limitations vary and may be shorter than the six years allowed in New York State. Potential claims under federal law may go back as far as three years.

Additionally, you may contact us so we can learn more about your employment situation and discuss any possible claims that you may have against your current or former employer. There is no charge or obligation for contacting us. We will not disclose to your current or former employer any information that you provide to our legal team. Remember that no attorney-client relationship with us will be created by contacting us to discuss your claims.

You have the right to seek other legal counsel to represent you. Choosing a lawyer is an important decision and you should select a lawyer to represent you who you feel can best protect your interests. Please contact us if you have any questions.

How Much Money Would I Be Entitled To?

It would take a detailed calculation based on the facts of your case to determine how much you would be owed in back wages. Our team can provide an estimate to you if you contact us.

However, the amounts can be significant. You could be entitled to some or all of the following:

time-and-one-half if that additional time means you worked over 40 hours in a week;
doubling of that amount; and
your attorneys’ fees paid by your current or former employer.

Click here for important information about our potential representation of you.

Is this a Lawsuit?

No. At this point we are merely investigating Financial Institutions’ employment practices regarding underwriters, commercial underwriters, and similar positions and those with similar duties within the industry. We would like to learn more about your employment history as an underwriter, commercial underwriter, or similar position with any Financial Institution. Any communications with us will be protected and confidential.

When do I Become Represented by Your Law Firm?

Contacting us to discuss your situation does not automatically qualify you to participate in any lawsuit that may be filed. If we file a lawsuit against your current or former employer, then you will not be a plaintiff in that lawsuit until your Consent Form, if one is submitted to us, has been received, we confirm that you qualify for the lawsuit, and we file your Consent Form with the Court, at which time our representation of you will be limited to only the unpaid wage claims listed in the complaint filed with the Court. Any communications with us will be kept confidential.

Please also keep in mind that important deadlines are passing daily that could reduce your recovery. Additionally, you may have claims that are not included in the information you provide to us, or are not the types of legal claims that we would handle. Therefore, we encourage you to retain another attorney now if you want to investigate any claims you may have. Remember, if you anticipate participating in any lawsuit against your current or former employer, then you must save and preserve all documents and electronic files related to your employment with that Financial Institution. You have the right to seek other legal counsel to represent you. Choosing a lawyer is an important decision and you should select a lawyer to represent you who you feel can best protect your interests. Please contact us if you have any questions at 1-877-272-4066.