Axa Financial hit with lawsuit

Two former employees are suing Axa Financial Services of Manhattan and two subsidiary units, claiming the company violated federal and state labor laws by not paying the workers during training or for overtime, despite their working as many as 60 hours a week.

The men seek class-action status for their suit on behalf of at least 1,000 other former employees.

The two plaintiffs, one from Manhattan, the other from upstate, said in papers filed Friday in U.S. District Court, Brooklyn, that they worked making phone calls to sell stocks out of Axa's office at 1633 Broadway in Manhattan.

"They were making calls for the benefit of the company and not being paid for it," said plaintiff's attorney Jeffrey K. Brown of Carle Place. An Axa spokeswoman said there would be no immediate comment on the suit.