Twenty former F&I managers sued Oregon-based Thomason Auto Group for hundreds of hours of unpaid overtime. Last week, the U.S. District Court in Portland ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, saying Thomason broke federal wage-and-hour regulations.

This was the second time in 18 months that Thomason was ordered to pay overtime.

Plaintiffs claimed they would work 70- to 80-hour weeks, until 2 or 3 a.m. some evenings. David Paul, attorney for the plaintiffs, said the dealer even retaliated against one plaintiff who complained about wages.

"When this employee complained, he was moved to a low-productivity store," said Paul. "He was fired a few months later."

There have been four lawsuits about F&I overtime in the Pacific Northwest in recent years, according to The Oregonian. They have prompted the National Automobile Dealers Association to come to dealers’ defense. The NADA’s position is that finance managers should be considered commissioned salespeople and exempt from overtime rules.

In March 2003, the NADA persuaded the U.S. Department of Labor to issue an opinion letter supporting its position. But the federal judges didn’t agree with the letter, and ruled for overtime. Three lawsuits are being appealed to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Many of the plaintiffs are now working 40- to 45-hour workweeks at other dealerships, according to Paul.