Free Reply to Response to Motion - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

DECLARATION
IN THE MATTER OF MONTANO V. ALLSTATE
MDL #1541
I, Ruben Montano , declare as follows:
l. I am a Plaintiff in the above-entitled action.
2, I was employed by Allstate Insurance Company from approximately ______.

3. During my employment with Allstate, I worked as a claims adjustor.
4. On December l7, 2002, a lawsuit was filed in Arizona of which I am a part; that lawsuit is
known as Montano v. Allstate, Arizona District Court Case No.: CIV 02 609 TUC JM. In filing
the above lawsuit I hoped to represent similarly situated Allstate employees who had not received
I fair pay for hours worked.
5. In my job with Allstate I was routinely required to work in excess of 40 hours in a seven
day work week. I was not paid overtime wages for the hours worked in excess of 40 in a seven
day work week. I have personal knowledge of other adjustors, like me, who were also routinely
required to work in excess of 40 hours in a seven day work week and who were not paid overtime
wages. I have personal knowledge that the requirement to work overtime hours without overtime
pay applied to adjusters who handled all types of claims, including auto damage, bodily injury
and homeowner’s claims. I and other adjustors were regularly told by management that our jobs
were not 40 hour per week jobs.
6. As an adjustor, I had no independent decision making authority beyond the limited
authority as prescribed by my manager. I have personal knowledge that other adjustors were also
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severely restricted by Allstate from making independent judgments in their jobs.
7. Although I was responsible for adjusting claims, I was given only limited authority to
settle claims; on claims exceeding my authority the claims that I handled could only be settled
with management approval. Adjusting claims was my primary job function, as was the ftmction
of other adjustors within Allstate’s employ.
8. As adjustors, we were required to attend Allstate’s uniform training programs throughout
our employment. We were required to attend these training programs on our own time. We were
also required to strictly adhere to Allstate procedures set forth in their PCCSO system and
manuals.
9. Although I and other adjustors regularly worked overtime hours, Allstate did not provide
records showing the hours worked. To the best of my knowledge, Allstate did not keep accurate
records of the hours that the adjustors or myself worked.
10. While working as an adjustor for Allstate, I would describe my job and the jobs of the
other adjustors of which I had personal knowledge, as essentially paper processors. I was not an
administrator nor did I perform administrative functions; these include, but are not limited to the
following: I could not hire and fire others at Allstate; I could not sell or market insurance; I had
no role in determining how insurance was priced or in handling any human resources functions.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct and that this
declaration is executed at Tucson, Arizona this July 9, 2004.
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Case 2:03-md-01541-PGR

Document 126-2

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Case 2:03-md-01541-PGR

Document 126-2

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