HOUSTON, Feb. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Compass systematically violated federal labor laws by denying overtime pay to its mortgage banking officers, Lee & Braziel, LLP and the Rowdy Meeks Legal Group, LLC allege in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Texas federal court.

Filed on behalf of former mortgage banking officer (MBO) Keith Vaughn, the lawsuit alleges that the bank illegally misclassified MBOs nationwide as overtime-exempt employees until approximately April 2011 in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

In April 2011, the bank reclassified its MBOs to make them eligible for overtime pay. Although Compass instituted a time-tracking system last year, it discouraged MBOs – who regularly work overtime – from entering more than 40 hours per work week so the bank could avoid paying overtime compensation, according to the lawsuit.

A resident of Katy, Texas, Vaughn worked as an MBO at several Compass branch offices between November 2010 and September 2011.

Vaughn is represented by Rowdy Meeks, of the Rowdy Meeks Legal Group LLC, in Kansas City, Mo., and J. Derek Braziel, of Lee & Braziel, LLP, in Dallas. More information about the litigation is available at www.BBVACompassOvertime.com.

J. Derek Braziel, of Lee & Braziel, LLP, said, "FLSA violations have been pervasive throughout the mortgage industry. We allege Compass Bank's deliberately illegal misclassification of its MBOs as exempt from overtime requirements, and not allowing them to properly record overtime hours worked, demonstrates a willful violation of the FLSA."

Rowdy B. Meeks, of Rowdy Meeks Legal Group LLC, said, "We believe the Defendants were well aware of their legal obligations to the MBOs because Compass employs many hourly, overtime-eligible employees in their branch offices. We hope this case will convince BBVA Compass and other banks to finally comply with the labor laws when it comes to their treatment of mortgage banking officers."

The law firms will seek to have the lawsuit certified as a collective action to recover unpaid overtime wages, liquidated damages, attorneys' fees, and other litigation costs.

The case is "Kevin Vaughn, et al., v. Compass Bank, Compass Bank, Compass Bancshares, Inc., and BBVA USA Bancshares, Inc.," Civil Action No. 4:12-cv-00316 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. 

Attorney Contacts: Rowdy B. Meeks, Rowdy Meeks Legal Group LLC, Kansas City, Mo., 816.977.2741, www.rmlegalgroup.com, and J. Derek Braziel, Lee & Braziel, LLP, Dallas, 214.749.1400, www.overtimelawyer.com.

SOURCE Lee & Braziel, LLP

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