UBS has agreed an out of court settlement worth $89 million to its financial advisors in the US, who filed a class-action wage and hour clai...

UBS has agreed an out of court settlement worth $89 million to its financial advisors in the US, who filed a class-action wage and hour claim against the Swiss bank. The settlement resolves claims that UBS incorrectly classified financial advisors and financial advisor trainees as exempt under federal law and the laws of all the states where UBS employs such employees. It also resolved claims that UBS should not have made certain adjustments to the compensation of financial advisors and financial advisor trainees. UBS said in a statement: “UBS settled this case at the national and state level because it did not believe protracted litigation in multiple courts was in the best interests of employees or clients.” Approximately three-quarters of the settlement amount will be available to employees via a claims process that must be approved by the court, according to UBS. Final details of the payment process are still to be determined by the court and will be managed by a third-party administrator. The remaining quarter of the settlement amount will go to administrative and legal costs. UBS said the vast majority of the payout was provisioned in the third quarter of 2005.