Suit by Ex-Workers at Citigroup Is Reinstated

A California appeals court reinstated a lawsuit filed by former employees of Citigroup Inc., the largest U.S. financial services company, who claim a Citigroup unit confiscated more than $30 million in workers’ pay.

An appeals court in Los Angeles ruled a trial judge erred in granting Citigroup’s second bid to dismiss the complaint brought by former Salomon Smith Barney brokers over the company’s employee discount-stock program.

The suit is one of several filed by former Salomon workers who claim the program illegally required workers to forfeit their contribution if they quit before the two-year vesting period.

Similar suits are pending in federal court in Boston and state courts in New Jersey and Illinois.

New York-based Citigroup declined to comment.