The $3.9 billion PatelcoCredit Union of Pleasanton, Calif. is facing a class actionlawsuit that accuses the credit union of misclassifying dozens ofassistant branch managers as exempt employees and failing tocompensate them for overtime and missed meal and rest breaks.
|According to an attorney for the plaintiff, former PatelcoCU assistant branch manager Yuliya Clarke of Martinez, Calif.,the plaintiff and other assistant branch managers worked long hoursat the credit union without receiving any overtime pay and werenever paid premiums for missed meal and rest breaks.
|The attorney, Oakland, Calif.-based Brian Schwartz, said Clarkealso alleges the group spent most of their time on the job workingon non-supervisory tasks, including day-to-day customer service andopening new accounts and auto loans.
|California overtime laws state if these types of activitiescomprise the majority of employees' job duties, they should beplaced outside “executive” and “administrative” exemptions, hesaid.
|Additionally, the suit states Patelco CU did not provide theassistant branch managers with itemized wage statements as requiredby California law, and that the credit union owes state lawpenalties.
|The suit was filed in Alameda County Superior Court on Jan.4.
|“Patelco is the latest in a long line of employers tomisclassify assistant branch managers as exempt,” Schwartz said.“It seems that — as with so many other employers — Patelco needs alawsuit to change its practices and begin paying its assistants theovertime and meal and rest period premiums to which they areentitled under California law.”
|A spokeswoman for Patelco CU confirmed a suit involving oneformer assistant branch manager had recently been filed regardingthe classification of Patelco assistant branch managers as exemptemployees. She said the credit union believes its assistant branchmanagers are correctly classified as exempt employees.
|“Patelco values its employees and we consider them our greatestresource,” said Ken Burns, president/CEO for Patelco CU. “Webelieve our employees are being treated fairly, and in accordancewith all applicable laws.”
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
