NEWARK — Financial representatives have received class certification for one of their two claims against Prudential Insurance Co. of America and Prudential Financial Inc. The financial representatives filed their claims in New Jersey federal court alleging the company denied them overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek and failed to pay them for work-related expenses. After an earlier denial of class certification, a federal judge again denied class certification for the representatives’ overtime claim, but recently granted them conditional class certification for their claim for unpaid work-related expenses.
The Claim Appealed
According to the representatives’ claims, Prudential deducted expenses from their wages for work-related items like using offices, office supplies, assistants, and insurance. And, in addition to taking allegedly illegal deductions, the representatives claimed the company denied them one and a half times their regular rate in overtime wages when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The financial representatives filed their initial claim in 2013 and were denied class certification on both claims by the original judge overseeing their case. But in April 2014, a new judge took over the case, the representatives resolved the problems that prevented class certification in 2013, and the representatives requested a second chance at class certification.
The New Decision
While the new judge agreed that the representatives did not have enough class members with sufficiently similar claims to justify class certification in the overtime claim, they were now entitled to class certification for the wage deduction claims, since their most recent claims are challenging the deductions themselves. With the conditional class certification, current and former financial representatives in California, New York, and Pennsylvania are now eligible to join the class action.
Class Certification
Class certification is not necessary for employees, or plaintiffs, to address their claims against their employer and to potentially receive back wages and awards for other damages. However, it can be essential when an employer has a pattern and practice of violating wage laws which has affected many employees. In many cases, the presumed cost of individual lawsuits and the fact that some employees’ claims are not as strong individually as they would be collectively can prevent employees from bringing a claim against their employer. Class certification allows employees who have suffered from the same wage violations, but who have weaker cases or would not want to bring an individual claim, to participate and address their claim. It also brings greater attention to the employer’s wage practices and will likely be an incentive to correct them.
If you believe your employer is illegally taking deductions from your wages or is not paying you proper overtime wages, you may have a wage or overtime pay claim. Our experienced team of overtime pay lawyers can be reached at (855) 754-2795. Or complete our Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our legal team will evaluate your claim. 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.