Current and former vehicle property damage claim adjusters of American Family
Insurance have filed a nationwide class action lawsuit charging AmFam with
failure to pay overtime wages. This website is sponsored by the national
law firm of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP and co-counsel.
Denver, Colorado, October 20, 2004: Current and former vehicle
property damage claim adjusters of American Family Insurance
("AmFam") today filed a nationwide class action
lawsuit in federal district court in Denver charging the
company with failure to pay overtime wages in violation
of federal and state labor laws.
The company employs more than 8,100 workers; the proposed
class includes hundreds of vehicle property damage claim
adjusters in 17 states. The complaint charges that AmFam
unlawfully misclassifies its employees who process vehicle
property damage claims as "exempt" from certain
state and federal labor laws in order to deprive them of
overtime pay.
"The
lawsuit seeks to affirm the principle that insurance claims
representatives are entitled to protection under federal
and state overtime pay laws," said Thomas A. Warren
of the Law Office of Thomas A. Warren.
Steven G. Zieff of Rudy, Exelrod & Zieff, LLP, explained,
"The complaint charges that AmFam has instituted a
policy of refusing to pay overtime wages due to vehicle
property damage claims adjusters even though these adjusters
have never been exempt from overtime pay requirements under
federal law and Department of Labor regulations."
"Ironically,
AmFam recruits employees by touting that it is 'committed
to providing a positive work experience for all of our employees,'"
noted Robert F. Hill of Hill & Robbins, P.C. "We
believe the evidence will show that AmFam failed to comply
with its basic obligation to pay its employees fairly and
in accordance with the law."
The
plaintiffs are asking the federal court to award compensation
and damages to current and former employees who were denied
overtime.
Further
Information
Members
of the media can obtain a copy of the amended complaint
by contacting Amy Yu of Lieff Cabraser
by e-mail at ayu@lchb.com.
Current
and former vehicle property damage claim adjusters of AmFam
who wish to learn more about the lawsuit or share their
work experiences with class counsel, should visit americanfamilyovertimelawsuit.com
or call toll-free 866-854-7830 to speak with a plaintiff's
attorney.
About
the Plaintiffs’ Attorneys
Lieff
Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is a 60-plus attorney
law firm with offices in San Francisco, New York, Beverly Hills and Nashville. Since 1972, Lieff Cabraser
has successfully represented plaintiffs in a wide range
of class action cases, including employment, wage and hour
and pension benefits litigation. Since 1992, the firm has
litigated 23 separate cases in which $100 million or more
in jury verdicts were rendered or settlements were reached,
including 11 cases valued at $1 billion or more each.
Rudy,
Exelrod & Zieff, LLP specializes in the representation
of workers and employees in state and federal courts. The
firm has long been a leading firm in the area of class action
overtime cases and has handled numerous multi-million dollar
overtime cases, including Bell v. Farmers Insurance Exchange,
in which they obtained the largest overtime verdict in United
States history.
Law
Office of Thomas A. Warren specializes in fair employment
class actions in federal court and handled two of the largest
Title VII class actions, Haynes v. Shoney’s Inc.,
and Shores v. Publix Super Markets, Inc.
Hill
& Robbins, P.C. was founded in 1978 and emphasizes class
action litigation as well as other complex litigation. The
firm has successfully represented plaintiffs in a wide range
of class action cases, including securities, antitrust,
consumer and pension benefits cases, and has handled numerous
major cases, including Gottlieb v. Miniscribe (securities
class action), In re New Mexico Natural Gas Antitrust
Litigation (antitrust class action), Vastano v. AT&T
Wireless (consumer class action), Eaton v. Onan
(pension class action) and Cooper v. IBM (pension
class action).
Altshuler,
Berzon, Nussbaum, Rubin & Demain is a San Francisco
law firm with extensive experience representing workers
in class action litigation, including numerous wage and
hour cases under state and federal law.
Lewis,
Feinberg, Renaker & Jackson, P.C. specializes in the
representation of workers and retirees in pension, employee
benefits, wage and hour, and other employment-related litigation
throughout the U.S. The firm has successfully litigated
dozens of class action cases.
Additional
Press Contacts:
Kelly M. Dermody
LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & BERNSTEIN, LLP
275 Battery Street, 30th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
Tel.: (415) 956-1000
Thomas
A. Warren
LAW OFFICE OF THOMAS A. WARREN
2032-D Thomasville Road
Tallahassee, Florida 32308
Telephone: (850) 385-1551
Steven G. Zieff
RUDY, EXELROD & ZIEFF, LLP
351 California Street, Suite 700
San Francisco, CA 94104
Tel.: (415) 434-9800
