TCF Bank Accused of Wage Violations, According to Workers' Legal Team

NEW YORK, March 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- A federal class action lawsuit filed today accuses TCF Bank of misclassifying workers to avoid paying overtime compensation in violation of federal and state wage laws, the law firms Outten & Golden LLP, Shavitz Law Group, P.A., and The Liu Law Firm, P.C. reported.

Filed in Illinois federal court, the lawsuit alleges that TCF Bank reduces its labor costs by unlawfully classifying its Assistant Branch Managers as exempt from overtime protections, requiring them to work more than 40 hours a week without paying them the overtime premium pay that the law requires. The lawsuit also seeks a declaratory judgment that TCF Bank's requirement that its employees waive their right to join a class action is unenforceable under federal law.

According to the complaint, Assistant Branch Managers worked alongside overtime-eligible employees, performing the same work but without overtime. The named plaintiffs worked in TCF Bank branches in Chicago, Illinois. They allege that they regularly worked more than 45 hours a week, and often 50 or more hours a week, without being paid proper overtime compensation for every hour they worked over 40.

The complaint also challenges TCF Bank's use of a Dispute Resolution Policy to bar its employees from participating in a class action to recover unpaid wages. According to the complaint, TCF Bank's Dispute Resolution Policy violates the Norris-LaGuardia Act, which protects the rights of employees to engage in concerted activity for mutual aid or protection by making unenforceable any promise to waive those rights.

Justin Swartz, of Outten & Golden LLP, said, "TCF Bank's assistant managers are hard-working people who deserve to recover unpaid wages for the long hours of overtime they have worked. We also want to make sure that, going forward, they are properly classified and compensated in compliance with federal and state wage laws."

Gregg Shavitz, of the Shavitz Law Group, P.A., said, "We intend to ask the Court to authorize notice of the lawsuit to all assistant managers so that they will have a chance to participate in the lawsuit and attempt to vindicate their rights to be properly compensated."

The defendants are TCF Financial Corporation and TCF National Bank. According to the complaint, they own and operate approximately 380 bank branches, employing thousands of workers in Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Colorado, Arizona, and South Dakota.

The case is "Schultz, et al. v. TCF Financial Corp., et al.," Civil Action 15-cv-01865 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Current and former TCF Bank Assistant Branch Managers who wish to report their work experiences or learn more about the lawsuit should visit http://www.tcfovertimelawsuit.com.

Attorney Contacts: Justin Swartz and Katrina Eiland, Outten & Golden LLP, 212.245.1000, www.outtengolden.com; Gregg Shavitz, Susan Stern, and Camar Jones, Shavitz Law Group, PA, 800.616.4000, www.shavitzlaw.com; Jennifer Liu, The Liu Law Firm, P.C., 415.896.4260, www.liulawpc.com.

SOURCE Outten & Golden LLP

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