Here’s an interesting one….KPMG in Canada has been served with a class action lawsuit by former employees that it forced hundred of (mainly tax accountants and auditors) employees to work overtime without paying for such additional time. The lawsuit seeks at least $20 million in punitive damages...
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Interesting.... In California, United States, Ernst & Young is being sued for overtime (www.eylawsuit.com).
There's also www.big4lawsuit.com.
In Canada, there is another big unpaid overtime lawsuit besides KPMG, which is against the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)(www.unpaidovertime.ca).
For additional reading regarding the issue of wage hour overtime lawsuits in the US, see www.businessweek.com/magazine/
content/07_40/b4052001.htm.
The attorney who is profiled in that article is one of the attorneys bringing an unpaid overtime suit against Ernst & Young in California (see www.eylawsuit.com).
Page 58 of the print version of the October 1, 2007 Business Week cover story "Wage Wars" by Michael Orey actually discusses the pending unpaid overtime class action lawsuit on behalf of E&Y staff against Ernst & Young. Or see www.businessweek.com/magazine/
content/07_40/b4052004.htm for online link.
Should the Ernst & Young unpaid overtime on behalf staff and seniors succeed, the compensation structure of the other US Big 4 competitors (PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), KPMG, and Deloitte & Touche (DT)) may also have to change.
"The 2002 Update of the DLSE Enforcement Policies and Interpretations Manual (Revised)" (see www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/DLSEManual/dlse_enfcmanual.pdf, page 242 of pdf file) expresses the California Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) department's opinion that one's job duties determine if one is entitled to unpaid overtime, notwithstanding job title (for example, an accountant) or professional licensing status (for example, a CPA):
54.10.6.2 As with the federal enforcement agency, it has been the experience of the DLSE that
some employers erroneously believe that anyone employed in the field of accountancy, engineering, or other professional fields, will qualify for exemption as a professional employee by virtue of such employment. While there are many exempt employees in these fields, the exemption of individual depends upon his or her duties and the other listed criteria.
54.10.6.3 The professional exemption does not extend to and exempt all employees of professional employers, or all employees in industries having large numbers of professional members, or all employees in any particular occupation. Nor does it
exempt those learning a profession. (29 CFR § 541.310) Moreover, it does not exempt persons with professional training, who are working in professional fields, but performing subprofessional or routine work. For a discussion of this point, see 29 CFR § 541.308(b).
Explains why KPMG auditors in Canada are incompetent - the competent ones go to decent firms.
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