Facts

Anthony Barahona worked as a Banking Representative for Rabobank, a national banking association, headquartered in Roseville, California. On August 31, 2019, Rabobank was acquired by Mechanics Bank. After being let go, Barahona filed a class action suit against Rabobank and Mechanics.

PLAINTIFF’S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that defendant failed to pay overtime wages, failed to provide accurate pay stubs, failed to pay wages due upon termination and engaged in unfair competition. He worked as an hourly employee and was denied overtime compensation because defendant failed to include non-discretionary bonuses, commissions, incentives and other non-discretionary consideration into the calculation of his overtime and double-time rates. For example, he would receive such bonuses when he would open a new credit card account for customers, or when he achieved certain pre-set metrics relating to his performance. Consequently, his pay stubs were also inaccurate and he was not paid correct overtime wages as these bonuses were not included into his base rate to calculate his overtime.

DEFENDANTS’ CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied all claims, contentions, charges of wrongdoing or liability. They maintained they complied in good faith with applicable laws and dealt fairly and legally with plaintiff and the class members.

Settlement Discussions

The parties agreed to mediation and on June 29, 2020, attended a session with Tripper Ortman. The mediator remained engaged in facilitating ongoing settlement discussions and approximately a week later the parties agreed to settle.

Result

The case settled with defendant agreeing to pay a gross settlement amount of $250,000.