Former employees of the Milwaukee-based life insurance giant Northwestern Mutual Life (NML) have filed a $200 million class action lawsuit alleging their ex-employer denied them overtime and minimum pay.
One plaintiff from Georgia and two others from California lead the suit, alleging that NML violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and California's overtime and minimum wage laws. Their complaint also states that NML "intentionally and repeatedly" misclassified sales employees as independent contractors: independent contractors are exempt from federal and state wage and hour laws, while full-time employees are not.
The plaintiffs have also requested that hundreds of current and former California NML representatives be recertified as full-time employees from independent contractors.
