LO's class action seeks unpaid OT wages from PNC Bank

A former PNC Bank loan officer is suing the bank for wage claims for damages allegedly exceeding $5 million. 

Alla Gurevich filed the class action lawsuit last week in a New Jersey federal court, accusing the Pittsburgh-based lender of violating state wage laws. The short filing does not include many details, but seeks to certify a class of at least 50 LOs who worked for PNC in New Jersey from 2019 to the present.

Neither PNC Bank nor attorneys for the parties responded to requests for comment Tuesday. 

The lawsuit is similar to numerous unpaid wage claims against mortgage lenders, with other complaints also seeking reimbursement for work-related expenses. While lenders have batted some cases away, other companies have moved to settle. Some of those suits also remain pending in state courts.

Lenders in those lawsuits often argue plaintiffs are exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state labor laws. Gurevich's lawsuit only said class members were entitled to New Jersey wage law protections.

Gurevich worked at PNC between 2018 and 2020, according to the filing. She was paid a fixed salary of $3,000 per month, plus commissions for originations. Like other proposed class members, the former LO said she often worked over 40 hours per week.

The employees "regularly did not record all hours worked because of a common policy and practice by defendant of discouraging the recording of all hours worked," the lawsuit said.

A summons to PNC Bank was issued Monday. 

The company is one of the larger mortgage lenders in the banking space, recording over $19 billion in origination volume last year according to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. It is also a major home equity line of credit lender, accounting for 5.1% of all such volume in the industry in 2023.