A California appeals court refused to hold Kaiser Foundation
Health Plan liable for alleged off-the-clock overtime about which
it lacked knowledge. In Jong v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan,
Inc., Jong, together with two other Outpatient Pharmacy
Managers ("OPMs"), filed a class action lawsuit against
Kaiser seeking unpaid overtime. Jong worked as an OPM from 2005 to
2010. In 2009, Kaiser reclassified its OPMs as non-exempt as part
of a settlement of a prior lawsuit alleging it had improperly
classified OPMs as exempt. Jong asserted that, both prior to the
reclassification and thereafter, there was no change in his duties
and OPMs were still required to work 50 hours per week to meet
Kaiser's expectation. At the same time, Kaiser held OPMs
accountable for hitting budget targets, and Jong had been
disciplined for going over budget, at least in part due to overtime
he had reported and for which he was paid. According to Jong, he
was forced to either meet his employer's
