| by Isaac Peck, Editor | |
| On January 19, a federal judge in Orange County, CA approved a $36 million settlement between Landsafe Appraisal Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Bank of America (BoA), and 369 current and former appraiser employees. The award amounts to roughly $100,000 per appraiser, before attorney’s fees of 33 percent.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2013 (See Appraisers Entitled to Overtime, Court Holds), alleges that BoA erroneously applied the “administrative” and “professional” exemptions to in-house staff appraisers and failed to pay them overtime. A press release issued by employment and civil rights attorney Bryan Swartz, counsel for the plaintiffs, states that “In approving the settlement, at the hearing, the court noted that as a result of the lawsuit, the new owner of Landsafe – CoreLogic – has begun paying all appraisers overtime.” Ethel Joann Parks of Manteca, California, one of four the named plaintiffs that is to receive an additional $25,000 for her time and effort in pursuing this litigation, says she frequently worked from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and decided to step forward because she felt that the bank failed to treat her and other appraisers “as human beings” with “family and personal needs that should be acknowledged.” Parks says she feels vindicated by this lawsuit and the exceptional relief obtained on behalf of the class. “I hope it will force banks and appraisal management companies throughout the country to reconsider pressuring their staff appraisers to work long hours without paying overtime,” says Parks. |
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| Swartz, lead counsel for the 369 appraiser class members, says the judgement not only provides meaningful compensation to hundreds of people, but he hopes it will lead to industry change for many thousands more.
One of the keys to success in this case, according to Swartz, was that the lead appraiser plaintiffs in the suit refused to quit. “First and foremost, our clients had the courage to step forward with their claims, and to stick with them for years. Next, we were able to avoid arbitration and stay in court with a thoughtful and fair-minded judge who had both the inclination and the ability to weigh the evidence carefully and make the right decision,” says Swartz. In terms of the effect that the settlement will have on the appraisal industry, Swartz says he believes that AMCs with staff appraisers have significant exposure if they are not paying their appraisers and reviewers overtime and other required wages of non-exempt employees. “My firm hopes to find appraisers who – despite companies now clearly knowing the risk of liability – are denied appropriate overtime and other premiums, and ensure that they get paid what they are owed,” says Swartz. |
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| “Employers take grave risks by cutting corners, and not fairly compensating their employees in tune with state and federal law. My firm and many others, including my co-counsel, are working to end wage theft in the economy…quickly,” says Schwartz. Click here for the Settlement Order.
The case is Terry P. Boyd et al. v. Bank of America Corp. et al., case number8:13-cv-00561, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Bryan Schwartz Law is co-counsel with Schonbrun Desimone, of Los Angeles, in the case. He can be reached at bryan@bryanschwartzlaw.com. repost from http://WorkingRE.com |
Vacancy No. 16-HUD-512 Department Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner
Salary $88,305.00 to $114,802.00 Grade 13 to 13
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 4/5/2016 Close Date 4/19/2016
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
ATLANTA, GAReview Appraiser (SF)
Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner
- 1 vacancy – Atlanta, GA
Work Schedule is Career/Career Conditional – Full-timeOpened Tuesday 4/5/2016
Closes Tuesday 4/19/2016
- Salary Range
$88,305.00 to $114,802.00 / Per Year
- Series & Grade
GS-1171-13/13
- Promotion Potential
13
- Supervisory Status
No
- Who May Apply
U.S. citizens who are:
1. Status Eligibles, VEOA eligibles, CTAP/ICTAP eligibles, eligible for special hiring authorities (e.g., the Schedule A appointment for persons with disabilities, or covered by an Interchange Agreement).
2. HUD employees currently serving on a Veterans’ Recruitment Appointment (VRA).- Control Number
434978000
- Job Announcement Number
16-HUD-512
Job OverviewJob Overview
Summary
About the Agency
This position is located in the Homeownership Center (HOC) of Single Family Housing.Duties
As a Review Appraiser, you will:
-Conduct detailed desk and field reviews of selected URARs and analyze all the information submitted for accuracy, supportability and consistency, and to ensure that, in each case, the appraiser has properly applied the current principles, practices, and techniques of appraising.
-Recommend disciplinary actions or sanctions against appraisers who violate USPAP or HUD program requirements as set forth in HUD handbooks and in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
-Upon request, advise the office’s underwriters regarding non-routine questions or considerations arising in their review of underwriting or in the course of their underwriting of HUD-processed cases.
-Organize, develop, and conduct periodic formal and informal training of Underwriters, approved appraisers and personnel from various trade organizations; also provide training and direction to less experienced staff in the Branch.
Travel Required
- Occasional Travel
- 1-5 nights per month
Relocation Authorized
- No
Job RequirementsJob Requirements
Key Requirements
- Click “Print Preview” to review the entire announcement before applying.
- Please refer to “Conditions of Employment.”
QualificationsYou must meet the following requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.
Specialized experience For the GS-13, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes:-Working as a project or team leader coordinating and integrating the work of others into a completed work product which includes working with others to resolve problems, coordinating activities, or gaining acceptance of a product or procedure;
-Appraising single-family residential properties;
-Performing trend analysis, reporting findings and writing recommendations to management officials;
-Implementing and evaluating programs areas and providing recommendations for improvements; and
-Overseeing projects and providing progress reports to management or high level officials.
Time-in-Grade:
In addition to the above requirements, you must meet the following time-in-grade requirement, if applicable:
For the GS-13, you must have been at the GS-12 level for 52 weeks.Time After Competitive Appointment:
Candidates who are current Federal employees serving on a non-temporary competitive appointment must have served at least three months in that appointment. The experience may have been gained in either the public, private sector orvolunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your resume.Security Clearance
Public Trust – Background Investigation
Additional InformationAdditional Information
What To Expect Next
You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS “My Account” tab and clicking on “Application Status”. For a more detailed update of your application status, you may click on “more information.”
Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
BENEFITS
Review our benefits
Location Affordability Portal (LAP): The LAP provides estimates of household housing and transportation costs at the neighborhood level to help make more informed decisions about where to live, work, and invest.Other Information
– We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
– Relocation expenses will not be paid.
– This is a bargaining unit position.
– This position is Non-Exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
– HUD offers alternative and flexible work schedules.CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
– A one year probationary period may be required.
– A one year supervisory or managerial probationary period may be required.
– Must successfully complete a background investigation.
– Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency
– If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service Systemor are exempt from having to do so.
– Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
– Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
– Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
HUD employees are prohibited under Section 7501.104, 5 Code of Federal Regulations from directly or indirectly owning, acquiring, or receiving:
– Federal Housing Authority debentures or certificate of claim;
– Financial interest in a project, including any single family dwelling or unit subsidized by HUD, or which is subject to a note or mortgage insured by HUD;
– Section 8 subsidies to or on behalf of a tenant of property you, your spouse, or a dependent child owns.
The following are exceptions to the Section 8 prohibition:
– The employee, or the employee’s spouse or minor child acquires, without specific intent as through inheritance, a property in which a tenant receiving such a subsidy already resides;
– The tenant receiving such a subsidy lived in the rental property before the employee worked for the Department;
– The tenant receiving such a subsidy is a parent, child, grandchild, or sibling of the employee;
– The employee’s, or the employee’s spouse or minor child’s, rental property has an incumbent tenant who has not previously received such a subsidy and becomes the beneficiary thereof; or
– The location of the rental property is in a Presidentially declared emergency or natural disaster area and the employee receives prior written approval from an agency designee.This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visitwww.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/434978000. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
How to ApplyHow to Apply
HUD has partnered with the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service to provide certain personnel services to its organization. Fiscal Service’s responsibilities include advertising vacancies, accepting and handling applications, and extending job offers.
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday – Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on the announcement’s closing date.
HUD provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.
To begin, either click the “Create a New Account” button and follow the prompts to register or if you previously registered, click the “Apply Online” button and follow the prompts.
You will be re-directed to HUD’s CareerConnector system to complete your application process; answer the online questions, and submit all required documents. (To submit supporting documents, click one of the available options; Upload; Fax; or Reuse existing documents. To protect your privacy, we suggest you first remove your SSN). Also, go to “My Account” to view and update your information, as necessary.
To complete, you must click the “Finish” button located at the bottom of the “Application Review” page.
To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
If you are experiencing system issues with your application, please contact the Help Desk at mgshelp@monster.com or at 866-656-6831 and/or the USAJobs Help Desk.
How You Will Be Evaluated
Your application includes your résumé, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your résumé includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your résumé may result in a “not qualified” determination.
Rating: Your application will be evaluated in the following areas: Communication, Project Management, and Technical.Your application will be rated and ranked among others, based on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, training, performance appraisals and awards relevant to the duties of this position. Your rating may be lowered, if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application.
Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration.
If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)), you must receive a rating of at least 84 out of 100 to be rated as well qualified to receive special selection priority.
To preview questions please click here.Required DocumentsRequired Documents
A complete application includes 1. A résumé, 2. Vacancy question responses, and 3. Submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).
All applicants are required to submit a résumé either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/date/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your résumé. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your résumé to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view résumé tips.
CURRENT AND FORMER EMPLOYEES — Documentation Relating to Your Federal Employment:
– Submit a copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing competitive service as Tenure 1 or 2 (Block 24), Position Occupied as 1 – Competitive Service (Block 34), Grade (Block 18) and Salary (Block 20). Typically Award SF-50s do not provide the required information. If the full performance level of your position is different from the grade indicated in Block 18, please provide proof of the full performance level.
– If your highest permanent grade is different from your current grade, submit a copy of an additional SF-50 showing that grade.
– If you are currently on a Veterans’ Recruitment Appointment (VRA), submit a copy of an SF-50 indicating that type of appointment. Also, you must submit a copy of your DD214 or other documentation showing dates of service and type of discharge and any other applicable documents such as SF-15, VA letters, etc.Performance Appraisal (ALL APPLICANTS):
Submit a copy of all pages of your most recent completed annual performance appraisal, dated within the last 12 months, that includes the final rating. In cases where the performance appraisal is more than 12 months old, incomplete or unavailable, you must attach a written explanation of the reasons.CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (CTAP/ICTAP) DOCUMENTATION: If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents.
Department Of Housing And Urban DevelopmentAssistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner
Contact
Applicant Call Center
Phone: 304-480-7300
TDD: 304-480-8725
Email: hudinquiries@fiscal.treasury.govAddress
Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner
***WE DO NOT ACCEPT MAILED APPLICATIONS***
Parkersburg
WV
US
Fax: 000-000-0000
