PRESS
RELEASE
American
Family Insurance Workers File Nationwide Overtime Pay Class Action Lawsuit
Proposed
Class Covers Hundreds of Current and Former Vehicle Property Damage Claim Adjusters
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.
About the Plaintiffs’ Attorneys
Lieff Cabraser Heimann
& Bernstein, LLP is a 60-plus attorney law firm with offices in San Francisco,
New York 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
Copyright
© 2007 Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP