Oracle is set to pay US$35 million to roughly 1,725 workers in order to settle a class-action suit brought against it over overtime pay and meal-break issues dating back to 2003.
A superior court in Alameda County, California, issued a preliminary approval to the settlement this week, according to a posting on the website of law firm Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen and Dardarian, which represented the plaintiffs.
The employees’ suit alleged that Oracle misclassified them as “exempt” workers in violation of California and federal laws regarding overtime pay. Affected employees worked in support, project management and quality assurance for Oracle and PeopleSoft, which the company acquired in 2004.
An Oracle spokeswoman declined comment. Court documents related to the preliminary settlement weren’t immediately available Friday. Oracle admitted no wrongdoing as part of the pact, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
The settlement comes several months after California’s Supreme Court ruled that out-of-state employees should be paid according to California’s overtime laws for work performed in the state. That long-running case was brought by a number of Oracle employees from Arizona and Colorado who traveled around the country providing training sessions.
