Southern District of New York Judge Harold Bear recently refused to compel arbitration in a lawsuit in which Financial Solutions Advisors employed by Merrill Lynch & Co. allege that they are violated overtime pay in violation of the FLSA. While it was clear that the Advisers signed arbitration clauses, the Judge noted that the arbitration clauses were contained in standardized FINRA contracts that prohibited the arbitration of class or collective actions unless the court refused to certify the class or collective. The case is entitled Zeltser v. Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., 1:13-cv-01531 (S.D.N.Y.). This is one of many cases in which bank employees such as loan officers
