Jury begins deliberations in Quiken Loans labor suit

A suit against Detroit based Quiken Loans is in its final stages. More than 300 former employees of the mortgage company filed the suit in federal court. The trial began in February 

They allege Quiken owes them, under a federal law, overtime pay for their 60 hour work weeks. The jury starts deliberations today.

The Detroit Free Press, March 15:
An attorney for the former employees, Paul Lukas, displayed e-mails to the jury during the trial to show that Quicken Loans repeatedly referred to its "sales" teams.

He explained how the workers sat at computers, made phone calls and tried to get people to agree to a loan and pay $500 to get an application started.

The average pay was $40,000 a year -- "good money, but not when you're working 60 hours a week," Lukas said.

Quiken's lawyer Mayer Morganroth (made famous in Detroit for his work in the Kilpatrick scandals) argues the workers are professionals, like doctors and  lawyers, and therefore, exempt from overtime pay.

The jury's decision may come down to semantics. Depending on how exactly the Federal law is written could be the determining factor. Jurors may have a hard time swallowing the argument that cold-calling consumers about loan applications from a cubicle is the same as a 14 hour heart surgery.

Morganroth, arguing for Quiken Loans said, "None of the plaintiffs kept track of their hours. There was no reason to do that. They were salary, not hourly,"

Regardless of the jury's decision, a precedent will be set. And there's a good chance that the loser will appeal to a higher court.