Atlantic Pacific Mortgage Corp. faces federal class action over failure to compensate for overtime work

A former loan officer for Atlantic Pacific Mortgage Corporation, who alleges he and other workers were not properly compensated for overtime hours worked, has filed a lawsuit against the company in federal court in Philadelphia.

Scott D. Kleinman, who resides in Virginia, says the complaint was filed on behalf of himself, and other individuals similarly situated.

The civil action was filed Sept. 19 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Philadelphia attorneys Samuel A. Dion, of the firm Dion & Goldberger, and Mitchell l. Paul of the Law Offices of Mitchell L. Paul.

Frank V. Pellegrini, who is listed in the suit as A&P’s CEO, is also named as a defendant.

According to the complaint, Kleinman, who worked for the company from February 2007 to June of this year, was paid on a commission basis, similar to other employees in his position. Therefore, he did not receive a regular weekly salary, the lawsuit states.

The complaint alleges that the plaintiffs were not properly paid overtime when they worked in excess of 40 hours a week, and they failed to receive proper minimum wage, what the suit claims are violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Defendants unlawfully failed to pay minimum wages and/or overtime compensation to the Plaintiffs during their employment by intentionally, willfully and improperly designating their positions as exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit seeks class action status since, at it claims, others who worked as loan officers for the defendants also experienced the same hardship as Kleinman.

“Defendants acted willfully and either knew that their conducted violated the FLSA or have shown reckless disregard for the matter of whether their conduct violated the FLSA,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants have not acted in good faith with respect to the Plaintiffs and the members of the FLSA class.”

The lawsuit states that the plaintiffs in the case seek judgment against the defendants “for a sum that will properly, adequately and completely compensate” the affected workers.

The lawsuit also seeks to have the defendants give plaintiffs counsel the names of all the employees who were similarly situated to Kleinman, and have a judge declare that the company engaged in violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The plaintiff’s also demand compensatory damages and overtime compensation owed, interest and attorney’s fees.

The federal case number is 2:11-cv-05909-AB.