Liability applied classwide in $11.5M BofA settlement

Liability can be applied class-wide when an employer's practices affect all workers with the same responsibilities, a federal judge said in her final approval of an $11.5 million settlement of three actions against Bank of America.

The plaintiffs, current and former bank employees who said they were not reimbursed for expenses, given breaks, or paid for off-the-clock work were represented by David R. Markham, Maggie K. Realin and Lisa R. Brevard of The Markham Law Firm; Richard E. Quintilone II and Jeffrey T. Green of Quintilone & Associates; and Stanley D. Saltzman and Tatiana G. Avakian of Marlin & Saltzman LLP.

The plaintiffs alleged a laundry list of Labor Code violations, including failure to pay regular minimum wages and overtime, failure to provide meals and rest periods, a lack of timely and accurate wage statements and failure to pay wages upon termination.

They cited violations of California's Labor Code, Unfair Competition Law and Private Attorneys General Act in their lawsuits.

Bank of America was represented by Sylvia J. Kim and Matthew C. Kane of Baker & Hostetler LLP.

The order signed Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Laurel D. Beeler in San Francisco follows preliminary approval of the settlement amount in December 2020.

"Because the claims arise from the defendant's uniform practices applied to employees with the same job opportunities, liability can be determined on a class-wide basis," Beeler's order stated.

The classes comprise 20,190 members, according to the order. As of Sept. 3, only five had opted out, with zero objections.

Class members stand to receive a net settlement of $7,497,202.97 out of a gross settlement of $11,500,000. Deductions have been made from the gross settlement for Private Attorneys General Act penalties, attorney fees, claims administration expenses, litigation costs, employer payroll taxes and enhancement payments to the named plaintiffs: Andrea Harrison, Miguel Mendoza, Kirash Kaffishahsavar and Kimberly Jaco.

Harrison represents the first class in the case, consisting of tellers who worked at Bank of America from Oct. 26, 2014 through the settlement's preliminary approval date of May 27, 2021. The second class, comprised of financial center operations managers who worked at the company from March 25, 2015, was represented by Mendoza. The third class, consisting of bankers, relationship managers and lending and sales specialists working at the bank from March 27, 2016, was represented by Kaffishahsavar.

Each named plaintiff will receive an enhanced payment of $7,500, totaling $30,000 -- $10,000 less than the originally requested amount.

"Overall, the settlement appears fair," Beeler stated in the order. "The settlement agreement was the result of an adversarial, noncollusive and arms-length negotiation process. It provides good value given the risks of litigation, the parties' disputes about damages, and the value of money to the plaintiffs now."