The First Appellate District reversed a judgment. The court held that a trial court’s wage and hour class action trial management plan was fatally flawed where it deprived an employer of its constitutional due process rights by preventing the employer from defending against the individual claims for over 90 percent of the class.
Amina Rafiqzada was employed by U.S. Bank National Association (USB) as a business banking officer (BBO). USB’s business banking officers were tasked to develop and manage small business customer relationships. USB applied a uniform wage exemption to the BBOs, categorizing them as exempt outside salespersons ineligible for overtime and related wages. In late 2001, Amina Rafiqzada filed a class action complaint against USB on behalf of herself and similarly situated current and former USB employees. She alleged USB misclassified its small business banker (SBB) employees, later known as BBOs, as exempt for purposes of California’s overtime wage laws.
