Former UBS Advisors Sue Firm Over Unpaid Wages and Business Expense Deductions
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
Two former UBS financial advisors have filed a class action lawsuit accusing UBS of failing to reimburse necessary business expenses, unlawfully deducting costs from wages, and delaying payments to employees who quit or were terminated.
As reported by ThinkAdvisor, the advisors filed the lawsuit in California, seeking reimbursement, penalties, restitution, and other relief for themselves and other UBS financial advisors.
The complaint alleges that UBS routinely requires financial advisors to cover reasonable business expenses—including travel, parking, mileage, education, client entertainment, marketing, and support staff wages—without proper reimbursement. ThinkAdvisor reports that, according to the plaintiffs, UBS deducts many of those costs directly from advisors’ wages, violating California labor laws, which mandate employers to indemnify employees for all necessary expenditures incurred while performing their job duties.
The complaint also alleges that UBS improperly withholds commissions. Because UBS pays financial advisors according to a fixed grid rate, commissions should be “reasonably calculable” once a trade closes. However, the complaint alleges UBS fails to pay commissions within ten days of the close of the pay period, violating California’s labor code, as reported by ThinkAdvisor.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.
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