Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and Lear Werts LLP filed a lawsuit on January 25, 2010 against H&R Block challenging the company-wide policy and practice of requiring their tax professionals to complete 24 hours of unpaid, mandatory training after the completion of a tax season in order to be eligible to prepare tax returns for H&R Block clients during the next tax season. The lawsuit alleges that H&R Block's systematic failure and refusal to pay their tax professionals for these 24 hours of mandatory training between tax seasons violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The lawsuit was filed as a nationwide collective action, which means that other similarly situated H&R Block tax professionals may be eligible to join the lawsuit and seek their unpaid wages.
The lawsuit alleges that it is estimated that H&R Block employs more than 100,000 tax professionals each year to prepare tax returns for H&R Block clients. A vast majority of H&R Block tax professionals prepare tax returns for clients during consecutive tax seasons and are believed to be victims of H&R Block's pay policy and practice challenged in the lawsuit. Federal law may permit these H&R Block tax professionals to recover, among other things, unpaid wages for these 24 hours of mandatory training, plus an equal amount for liquidated damages, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, attorneys' fees and litigation costs. Unpaid wages can be sought for the past two- or three-year period from the date the employee joins the case, depending on whether H&R Block's alleged violation of the FLSA is deemed willful.
George Hanson and Todd McGuire of Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and Bradford Lear and Todd Werts of Lear Werts LLP are representing the H&R Block tax professionals in the lawsuit, which was filed on January 25, 2010 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Western Division, Case No. 4:10-cv-00075-DGK.
Click HERE to view a copy of the Complaint.
Click HERE to download Adobe Reader.
Media Coverage
Click HERE to view the Kansas City Star article.
Click HERE to view the Columbia Daily Tribune article.
Click HERE to view the Employment 360 article.
Click HERE to view the Kansas City Business Journal article.
Who is eligible to join the lawsuit?
If you worked as an H&R Block tax professional during the last three years and were required to complete unpaid, mandatory training between tax seasons, you may be eligible to join this lawsuit and seek unpaid wages.
Please complete the confidential information form below and we will contact you to discuss the lawsuit. You also may call our office at 1-888-756-6490 for additional information.
Why Stueve Siegel Hanson?
Stueve Siegel Hanson is a national litigation firm specializing in complex business litigation, securities litigation, and consumer class actions. We have obtained substantial results for our clients in all types of litigation around the country, and have collectively been honored with dozens of awards and designations, for both our trial successes, and case results.
