A federal district court in New York July 14 granted preliminary approval to a $175 million agreement between Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. and a nationwide class of female current and former sales employees to settle claims of systemic sex bias in pay, promotions, and pregnancy leave (Velez v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., S.D.N.Y., No. 04-9194, order preliminarily approving settlement 7/14/10). Novartis has…
Posted July 14th, 2010. As it appeared in the Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Novartis has agreed to pay $152.5 million to settle claims that it discriminated against women by paying them less than men. The settlement was announced Wednesday by the pharmaceutical company and lawyers for the plaintiffs. It calls for an additional $22.5 million to be paid…
The 2nd Circuit ruled yesterday that Novartis AG’s sales representatives merit overtime and are covered by federal wage-and-hour laws under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Plaintiffs claimed they were underpaid because they were denied time-and-a-half for each hour worked over 40 hours per week from 2000 to 2007. FLSA requires that employees be paid overtime for more than 40…