California overtime suites hit 2 of Big 4

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/10047863/c_10046596?f=home_todayinfinance

As California goes, so goes the country. If that adage is accurate, Big Four accounting firms may be looking at a slew of class-action lawsuits questioning in-house overtime policies for white-collar workers. Two similar lawsuits are wending their way through the U.S. district court system in California, one targeting PricewaterhouseCoopers and the other Deloitte & Touche.

The PwC case, which was granted class-action status on Wednesday, involves two former accounting employees who allege they were denied overtime pay and other benefits when they worked for the accounting giant. The year-old case is being heard in California's Eastern District and covers all associates and senior associates employed by PwC in California.

PwCとデロイトに勤務していたスタッフレベルの会計士が残業代を払ってもらっていないとクラスアクションの訴訟を起こしたようです。KPMGとEYではそういう問題はないのかな？と言う事が気になりますが、もし被告側が勝ったら、過去５年に渡る残業代など一人５万ドルの支払いになるかもしれないみたい。

もしカリフォルニアで被告側が勝ったら、他の州や近隣のカナダなどでも同じようなクラスアクションの訴訟が起きる可能性が高いので、今後の動向が非常に気になる所です。