Working overtime?

An Orange County Superior Court Judge has denied class certification of a lawsuit against apparel manufacturer BCBG Max Azria and its parent company AZ3 Inc. last month, ending four and one-half years of litigation.

Three former BCBG store managers sued the store in 2002, claiming that they had been unfairly classified as managers exempt from overtime pay. The three plaintiffs eventually grew to a class of 1,000 former and current employees, who sought $50 million in back pay.

"We hope that this case will serve as a model for defendants who believe that they have properly classified their employees and who no longer want to pay nuisance settlements to resolve frivolous law suits," said Scott J. Ferrell, lead attorney for the defendant.

In fact, out-of-court settlements have been the norm for overtime lawsuits. They can drag on for years and the potential for a company to face a multi-million dollar judgment is very real. Overtime law suits have become something of a cottage industry in the California Plaintiff's Bar since 2000, when California's "Eight-Hour-Day Restoration and Workplace Flexibility Act of 1999" went into effect.

John Quisenberry, a trial attorney who focuses on overtime work but was not involved in the BCBG suit, said the classification of managers is at the heart of many overtime cases. Usually, he said, there are assistant managers under one main manager at a store. Since assistant managers and managers don't perform the same function, it's problematic to lump them into one category, Quisenberry said. Companies can get around that by convincing judges that these mangers do different jobs at different times.

Even though it would make life more difficult for a plaintiff lawyer, Quisenberry said he wishes the court would make things more clear.

"I wish a judge would say 'I agree with you, Employer. I want you to come back in here in court every two weeks and say which you managers you paid overtime and which you didn't,'" said Quisenberry.

Still, BCBC was celebrating last week. "We could not be happier with the court's decision as we knew from the outset that these claims were completely without merit. BCBG will continue to vigorously defend any baseless lawsuits," General Counsel Maryn Miller said.

Staff reporter Emily Bryson York can be reached at [phone], ext. 235, or at [e-mail].