Klafter Olsen & Lesser Wins Significant Victory On Behalf of Insurance Claims Adjusters Regarding Overtime Wages
NEW YORK, Oct. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP ("KOL") announces that it won a significant victory in a case alleging that Government Employees Insurance Company ("GEICO") improperly classified its Telephone Claims Representatives and Telephone Adjuster Examiners, levels I and II ("TCRs/TAs"), as exempt from receiving overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). GEICO in recent years sought to increase its profits by increasing the workload of TCRs/TAs, while at the same time restricting their independent judgment to decide how much GEICO should pay on a claim. GEICO did this primarily through GEICO's sophisticated claims processing program called ClaimIQ. TCRs/TAs are required to sit in front of a computer screen and fill in ClaimIQ's data fields to process insurance claims. Despite the increased workload and longer hours, GEICO refuses to pay TCRs/TAs the overtime wages which KOL believes GEICO is required to do under the FLSA.
After several years of hard fought litigation, the federal district court granted GEICO's motion to dismiss the case, denying TCRs/TAs the right to have their case decided by jury. KOL immediately appealed that decision. On October 10, 2014 the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit granted KOL's appeal and vacated the district court's decision dismissing these claims. This is the first time that a federal appeals court has ruled in favor of insurance claims adjusters seeking overtime wages under the FLSA. KOL plans to take this case to trial.
KOL also believes that the same legal right to overtime exists for claims adjusters at other insurance companies who also use sophisticated claim processing software such as ClaimIQ, Colossus or Xactimate. It is KOL's belief that GEICO and other insurance companies are using increasingly sophisticated claim processing software to force insurance claims adjusters to handle more claims, work longer hours, and to restrict payouts – all to increase their bottom line while denying overtime wages. We believe this practice is wrong.
For more information contact Dudley Jordan at [email protected] or 914-934-9200 ext. 312 or Nancy Velasquez at [email protected] or 914-934-9200 ext.315. Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP has extensive experience in bringing FLSA and wage and hour cases involving the failure to pay overtime and has offices in New York and Washington, D.C. Please visit our website, www.klafterolsen.com, for more information about the Firm.
Contact:
Seth R. Lesser
KLAFTER OLSEN & LESSER LLP
Two International Drive., Suite 350
Rye Brook, New York 10573
(914) 934-9200
SOURCE Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP
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