Follow-up on Big 4 Lawsuits Re: Overtime

Tramp has obtained an announcement made to KPMG employees regarding overtime lawsuits, originally mentioned here two weeks ago.

Quoting the announcement:

These lawsuits were filed by several of our former professional employees ("Plaintiffs") and allege that all of KPMG's associates and senior associates were improperly classified as salaried, or "exempt" employees (who do not receive overtime pay), and that they instead should have been classified as "non-exempt" employees and paid overtime. Among other things, the Plaintiffs are seeking back overtime pay and other monetary awards.

[We] want you to know that we work very hard to be an employer of choice and believe we have classified and paid our professional employees appropriately. Consequently, we have denied the claims asserted in the lawsuits, and we are actively engaged in defending against them.

The Plaintiffs are seeking to certify the cases as class actions, on behalf of all current and former associates and senior associates nationwide, as well as within certain specified states. If the courts grant the Plaintiffs' request that the cases be certified as class actions, then some of you may be potential class members, in which case you would have the right, at a future date, to determine whether you want to participate in the cases.

The "work very hard to be an employer of choice" part sounds sincere desperate because, oh, I don't know, there's lots of KPMG employees out there that were/are being treated like two-bit whores. Tramp predicts that this class action thing will get the go ahead and lots of people will be getting calls from big shot law firms.

So far, Tramp has not received any communicado on lawsuits affecting the other Big 4, so please pass along anything you may know.
Sphere: Related Content

CORRECTION

Contrary to popular belief, blogs, on occasion, get their facts wrong. 10-key Tramp is no exception.

Thanks to a vigilant reader that we'll call "Bill", we've learned that Phil Mickelson actually played last week in the St. Jude's Classic. We originally published that this week's U.S. Open was his first tournament back. Tramp regrets the error.

But like we mentioned, we don't follow golf, so def a forgivable mistake. Moving on... Sphere: Related Content

Always a Bridesmaid: The #4 Accounting Firm's Investment in the #2 Golfer

We here at 10-key Tramp are not golf fans. It's not a terribly compelling sport in our opinion. Stuffy misogynists walking around in plaid pants with mismatched striped shirts doesn't do it for us. The reasons we got out of public accounting probably has similar roots in why we quit playing golf.

Nevertheless, what is compelling is that KPMG pays Phil Mickelson a lot of money but one has to wonder if the Radio Station is pleased with the production of their multi-million dollar investment.

P. Mick has won four times since donning the Radio Station logo but nothing too meaningful. No Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, or PGA Championship titles.

Today is the first round of the U.S. Open and Mickelson's first tournament since his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, so Tramp might soften this one time, and root for Phil. We'd like to promise round-by-round updates on how the hat looks on Phil's head, if he is surrounded by scantily-clad KPMG sponsored babes, etc. but let's be honest, we'll just let you know on Sunday if he won. Sphere: Related Content

Who Chose this Headline?

An Intimate Evening With Eliot Spitzer [Forbes] Sphere: Related Content

Scoping 6.18.09

Banks Brace for Fight Over an Agency Meant to Bolster Consumer Protection - “'The argument for doing that is you’ll have an agency that’s only focused on protecting consumers,' said Donald G. Ogilvie, chairman of the Deloitte Center for Banking Solutions. 'The argument against that is you’ll have an agency that’s only interested in protecting consumers.'" Translation: This is going to get ugly. [New York Times]

Eddie Bauer Files for Bankruptcy - Chapter 11 reorg. will allow the retailer to continue selling faux-outdoor gear to consumers who are faux-outdoor enthusiasts. [New York Times]

Wells Fargo CEO: TARP is "great investment" - Did anyone out there get a dividend check yet? Anyone? ANYONE? - [Denver Business Journal]

This Is Why California Is Not Getting Bailed Out - [DealBreaker] Sphere: Related Content

New President for RSM McGladrey

H&R Block announced a new President of its wholly owned subsidiary, RSM McGladrey, today, Charles Elliot "C.E." Andrews.

C.E. (please submit your much more interesting names, e.g.: CPA Extraordinaire) started his career at Arthur Andersen and remained with them until the bitter, bitter, bitter end.

He then joined Sallie Mae where he was served as Executive VP of Accounting and Risk Management, CFO, President and then CEO until joining McGladrey. He currently serves on the board of directors of Six Flags, Inc., NVR, Inc., and U-Store-It Trust.

Let's recap:

1. Goes by a strange combination of initials
   
2. Worked for nearly 30 years at the firm best known for its death
   
3. Boss at a GSE that could potentially end up like its other GSE relatives
   
4. Sits on the board of directors of an amusement park company that just declared bankruptcy, a homebuilder/lender, and relatively small storage company
   

Yeah. Should go fine.

Andrews named as president of RSM McGladrey [Kansas City Business Journal]

H&R Block Names New President of RSM McGladrey [RSM McGladrey Press Release] Sphere: Related Content

Ernst & Young Layoffs and Wild Speculation Wednesday

Tramp just received a tip that the Ernst & Young tax practice in New York will be laying off staff tomorrow. This layoff is a follow up to the dismissal of 50-60 tax professionals that occurred in February.

This also occurs after the reported tax layoffs in the UK by KPMG.

Tax professionals getting the axe, while historically being excellent survivors, leads us to wildly speculate whether this layoff trend in tax will continue to proliferate across the firms' tax practices.

It could simply be the result of audit partners weeping about how bad they've got it and the bigwigs are asking the tax partners to get a little blood on their hands as well.

If anyone out there has more specific information or other tips, please pass them along. Sphere: Related Content