It seems UBS is trying to sneak one by its financial advisers. UBS is trying to have brokers waive their right to file class action lawsuits against the firm. Now UBS didn't approach brokers directly to discuss this matter. Instead, UBS tried to bury this waiver provision within a 30-page compensation document that brokers received and signed last month. Wall Street Letter picked up this story and interviewed UBS brokers. One said, "We got a big book of policies and I just signed it."
It's obvious that UBS is trying to avoid additional class action lawsuits like the ones we saw last year involving overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. UBS, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $266 million to settle claims of overtime. Will this be enforceable? Employment lawyers say "No way!" and in fact, the Fair Labor Standards Act explicitly states that employees cannot waive their right to sue.
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James J. Eccleston heads the securities group at Shaheen, Novoselsky, Staat, Filipowski & Eccleston, P.C., a business law firm dedicated to closely-held business owners, senior executives and high net worth individuals. With three core practice groups - securities, general litigation, and corporate / transactional - and many subspecialties, SNSFE provides clients a full spectrum of legal services, from start-up to succession planning. Visit snsfe-law.com or call 312.621.4400 for more information. 
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