KPMG ORDERED TO PRESERVE EVIDENCE

A Judge in the Southern District of New York issued a significant opinion this week regarding the duties of a company to preserve evidence in a nationwide FLSA unpaid overtime case. Judge Cott denied KPMG’s motion for a protective order, requiring KPMG to maintain internal hard drives of thousands of Advisory Associates who worked for KPMG in the past 6 years. KPMG had argued that the expense and time required was too great. The Court disagreed, stating that KPMG must bear the cost as the hard drives are relevant to the amount of hours worked by Plaintiffs. Following this decision, companies must be very careful regarding failure to preserve evidence.