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Jessica S. High (Bar No. 030502) Aaron T. Winn (Pro Hac Vice) Maryam Maleki (Pro Hac Vice application pending) DUANE MORRIS LLP 750 B Street, Suite 2900 San Diego, CA 92101-4681 Telephone: +1 619 744 2200 Fax: +1 619 744 2201 E-mail:jhigh@duanemorris.com atwinn@duanemorris.com mmaleki@duanemorris.com Attorneys for Defendant MATRIX ABSENCE MANAGEMENT, INC. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
Tina Weeks, Michael McDonald & Cassandra Magdaleno, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Matrix Absence Management, Inc., an Arizona Company,
Case No. 2:20-cv-00884-PHX-SPL DECLARATION OF MICHELLE BAHADAR IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT’S OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR STEP ONE NOTICE PURSUANT TO THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT
Defendant. Judge:
Hon. Steven P. Logan
Action Filed:
May 6, 2020
I, Michelle Bahadar, declare as follows: 1)
I am the Senior Corporate Recruiter for Matrix Absence
Management, Inc. (“Matrix”), Defendant in this lawsuit. I have been employed in this position since approximately late 2015 or early 2016. 2)
The following information is true and correct and based upon my
own personal knowledge, and if called upon as a witness, I could and would
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competently testify thereto. 3)
Prior to my promotion, I was employed as a Corporate Recruiter at
Matrix from March 14, 2013. 4)
As a result of my position(s) within the Human Resources
Department of Matrix, I am very familiar with our job/position descriptions and job postings. 5)
Matrix has gone through restructuring which resulted in some job
title changes by Matrix. For example, Matrix formally eliminated the Integrated Claims Examiner job title in 2014. Additionally, in or about November 2017, Matrix introduced the Absence Management Specialist (“AMS Examiner”) job title, which combined responsibility for adjudicating, assessing and managing leave of absence requests and adjudicating, assessing, and managing short term disability benefit claims into one position. 6)
As a result, it was necessary for those Matrix employees who were
adjudicating, assessing, and managing leave of absence requests to receive training on adjudicating, assessing, and managing short-term disability benefits requests, as the two lines of business are vastly different. 7)
Additionally, Matrix job titles reflected the proficiency levels of I,
II, and Senior for all of its employees who directly adjudicate, assess, and manage claims and employees who obtain the requisite level of proficiency are accorded the title consistent with that competency. 8)
The only differences between the proficiency levels discussed in the
preceding paragraph are that of expectation and ability. However, a Level I employee is not subject to any greater level of supervision than is a Senior-level employee. Moreover, the independent judgment and discretion utilized by a Level I employee is no different from that utilized by a Senior-level employee. 9)
Michael McDonald and Amanda Wright were employed with
Matrix. Their most recent position/job title was Claims Examiner II – AMS
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[Absence Management Specialist]. The job/position description for that position is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 10)
Cassandra Magdaleno, Margaret (“Maggie”) Berg, and Ramon “Ray”
Vargas were employed with Matrix. Their most recent position/job title was Claims Examiner II – LOA [Leave of Absence]. The job/position description for that position is attached hereto as Exhibit B. 11)
Tina Weeks and Kimberly Green were employed with Matrix. Their
most recent position/job title was Claims Examiner II – LTD [Long Term Disability]. The job/position description for that position is attached hereto as Exhibit C. 12)
Jennifer Hassell and Collette “Monique” Cokley were employed with
Matrix. Their most recent position/job title with Matrix was Claims Examiner I – LTD. The job/position description for that position is attached hereto as Exhibit D. 13)
Jessie Sanchez and Sandra Matos were employed with Matrix.
Their most recent position/job title was Claims Examiner I – AMS. The job/position description for that position is attached hereto as Exhibit E. 14)
Mary Floyd was employed with Matrix. Her most recent position/job
title was Senior Claims Examiner – LTD. The job/position description for that position is attached hereto as Exhibit F. 15)
Additionally, I have reviewed the thirty (30) pages of purported job
postings offered into evidence by the plaintiffs as Exhibit K to their motion. These job postings were not drafted, created, approved or posted by Matrix. These job postings are not provided by Matrix to our employees, nor are they provided by Matrix to job applicants. It is not clear where the postings that plaintiffs have offered into evidence as Exhibit K came from, how old they are, or who prepared them. As noted above, Matrix’s actual job descriptions for the positions at issue are attached to this declaration as Exhibits A through F.
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I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Dated: October 1, 2020
__ Michelle Bahadar
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