A new report released today said that banks and insurance companies paid out some of the largest settlements in the past decade in lawsuits alleging inadequate worker compensation, the Wall Street Journal reported. Financial-service companies occupy half the spots on a list of the 12 employers that paid the most in legal disputes over pay for workers since 2000, said Good Jobs First, an organization that tracks legal violations at large companies. Lawsuits accusing companies of wage discrepancies are often filed by workers who say managers expected them to do job tasks after they clocked out, or failed to pay employees on the occasions they worked during rest and meal breaks. Workers also file cases alleging they worked extra hours but were shortchanged overtime pay or were misclassified as exempt from overtime. Walmart Stores Inc. topped the list, with $1.12 billion in settlements and fines, in part because of a $352 million settlement in 2008. That payment consolidated more than 60 separate lawsuits alleging various violations, such as failing to pay for required rest and meal breaks. Bank of America spent $73 million to settle claims in 2013 from some retail-branch and call-center employees who alleged that the bank didn’t pay people for overtime and other work performed off the clock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. paid $42 million in 2011 to settle an overtime case brought by underwriters and credit analysts. Earlier this year, Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay $27.5 million to thousands of its California tellers and service managers who said they weren’t paid for overtime hours and for working during meal breaks.
