NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A Fund Accountant employed by HSBC Bank USA, N.A. ("HSBC"), has filed a class and collective action lawsuit for wage and hour violations against HSBC. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Case No. 11-Civ-7887) on behalf of former and current employees of HSBC who worked as Fund Accountants for the Alternative Fund Services ("AFS") group alleging that HSBC failed to pay them for the overtime they worked.  

The AFS group provides administration services to various alternative funds of clients such as hedge funds, funds of funds and private equity funds. Among the various services AFS provides to its funds is fund accounting.  

The plaintiff claims that HSBC improperly misclassified Fund Accountants as exempt salaried employees who were ineligible to receive overtime pay.  Plaintiff alleges that Fund Accountants customarily worked more than 40 hours per week and that it was HSBC policy and practice to treat them as "exempt" so as to avoid paying them overtime as required by  the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law.

As Co-Counsel Mitchell Schley noted, "This is another example of one of the largest employers in the financial services industry choosing to ignore federal and state wage and hour law. HSBC's Fund Accountants work long hours maintaining accounting records for prosperous hedge fund clients, but are denied overtime pay lawfully due them. HSBC is undoubtedly aware of its obligations, but as is often the case, it does not comply unless forced to do so by legal action."

Judith L. Spanier of Abbey Spanier Rodd & Abrams, LLP, and the Law Offices of Mitchell Schley, LLC, represent the plaintiffs.  The lawsuit seeks collective and class action status, and monetary damages.

SOURCE Abbey Spanier Rodd & Abrams, LLP

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