Misclassified Appraisers Sue Chubb Group of Insurance Companies for Unpaid Wages

Misclassified Appraisers Sue Chubb Group of Insurance Companies for Unpaid Wages

PRESS RELEASE

Misclassified Appraisers Sue Chubb Group of Insurance Companies for Unpaid Wages

September 29, 2016, Oakland – A Personal Lines Appraiser has filed a class and collective action against the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, seeking to recover millions of dollars of unpaid wages based on the insurance giant’s practice of misclassifying these employees as “exempt” from overtime pay, among other violations of California and federal law. Chubb’s appraisers (also referred to as Risk Consultants) complete form valuations of luxury homes based on well-defined criteria, allowing Chubb to determine whether the homeowner’s insurance policy adequately covers a potential loss.

“Chubb requires its appraisers to work sixty or more hours per week to meet Chubb’s demanding quotas,” said Greg Boesch of Redwood City, California, the lead plaintiff in the suit. “I have worked for Chubb for over 16 years, and I brought the lawsuit because I was tired of being forced to work grueling hours without fair pay, and it has also negatively impacted my health,” Boesch continued.

The lawsuit, filed in the San Francisco-based U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that Chubb’s appraisers have unlawfully been deprived of overtime pay,  California meal and rest period premiums, and itemized wage statements. The Complaint alleges that appraisers must follow Chubb’s detailed internal guidelines to produce their appraisals, placing the appraisers squarely outside of the so-called “white collar” exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act and the California Labor Code.

“Chubb’s appraisers are production workers who do not sell any insurance products,” noted Bryan Schwartz, whose firm Bryan Schwartz Law, P.C. represents the Plaintiffs. “Although their work is important to Chubb’s residential insurance business, they make no final decisions as to the insurance coverage amount and should be getting paid overtime. We look forward to bringing Chubb’s practices to light and recovering the wages that our client and his co-workers earned but were not paid,” said Schwartz. Bryan Schwartz Law, P.C. has had considerable success in favorably resolving wage-and-hour class actions on behalf of groups of misclassified employees, including several cases on behalf of other appraisers.

For more information about this case, Boesch v. Chubb Group Holdings, Inc., et al. (Case No. 16-CV-03536-MEJ), please contact Bryan Schwartz at Bryan@BryanSchwartzLaw.com.