$98 Million Settlement Announced in Smith Barney Brokers’ Overtime and Wage Claims

BNA reported on June 9th in its Class Action Litigation Report (Vol. 7, No. 11, page 372) that Citigroup's Smith Barney brokerage unit has agreed to pay $98 million to settle claims on behalf of thousands of current and former brokers (Bahramipour v. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. f/k/a Salomon Smith Barney, N.D. Cal., No. 04-4440, settlement announced 5/24/06).

The BNA report stated: “The allegations in the Smith Barney cases are similar to those in other litigation…alleg[ing] that throughout the securities industry, employees are incorrectly classified as exempt from overtime because they were primarily hired to sell securities and therefore do not qualify for the administrative exemption under federal or state wage laws.”

The settlement comes after a federal district judge permitted plaintiffs to pursue an opt-out class action under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Bahramipour v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., Slip Copy, 2006 WL 449132 (N.D.Cal. February 22, 2006).

BNA subscribers may access the full report by clicking here.