ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Wage Deal Can't Include Atty-Linked Organization, Judge Says Law360 (April 9, 2021, 2:25 PM EDT) -- A class action settlement between a debt collector and employees who claimed their overtime pay rate failed to include commissions can't send unused funds to an organization with ties to class counsel, an Illinois federal judge said, rejecting the $195,000 deal. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Franklin U. Valderrama denied debt collection specialists' bid for preliminary settlement approval with EOS-USA Inc. and EOS CCA, because the deal would divert unused funds to the charitable arm of the National Employment Lawyers Association, or NELA, presenting a conflict under class action standards.