Appeals Court Rules Unlicensed Accountants Not Covered by CA Overtime Laws in PwC Case

A U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday that unlicensed accountants at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) are not automatically covered by California's overtime laws.

Published on June 16, 2011

A class action lawsuit against PwC by 2,000 unlicensed junior accountants claimed that the accounting firm failed to pay them mandatory overtime under California law. A lower court found that PwC could not exempt them from the state's overtime requirements.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed on Wednesday, ruling that PwC is entitled to litigate whether the unlicensed accountants can be exempted from overtime laws. The 9th Circuit remanded the case back to a district court in Sacramento, Calif. for more proceedings.

Representatives for the plaintiffs and PwC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.