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In an apparent case of first impression, Judge Harold Baer of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, denied defendants’ motion to compel the arbitration of a collective and class action for overtime pay filed by financial advisors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”).

In Zeltser, et. al v. Merril Lynch, 13 CV 1531, Judge Baer rejected motions to compel arbitration filed by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc; and Bank of America Corporation.  In Zeltser, former and current Financial Solutions Advisors (“FSAs”) alleged that they were entitled to overtime pay for working overtime hours.  FSAs were required to register with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and sign a Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer, which is referred to as a “Form U-4.”

Form U-4s contain an arbitration clause requiring registered representatives, like the FSAs, to “agree to arbitrate any dispute, claim or controversy that may arise between [the registered representative] and [his or her] firm. . . .that is required to be arbitrated under the rules, constitutions or by-laws of [FINRA]. . . .”  However, FINRA rules, which also govern Form U-4s, provide that an agreement to arbitrate may not be enforced against any registered representative who is a “member of a certified or putative class action with respect to “any claim that is the subject of the certified or putative class action until: [t]he class certification is denied, [t]he class is decertified; [t]he member of the certified or putative class is excluded from the class by the court; or [t]he member of the certified or putative class elects not to participate in the class or withdraws from the class according to conditions set by the court, if any.”

Salvatore G. Gangemi was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2014 in the fields of Employment Law – Individuals, Employment Law – Management, and Litigation – Labor and Employment. (Copyright 2013 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC).

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which almost 50,000 leading attorneys cast nearly five million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

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