Employment/Wage & Hour Class Actions

Overview

Our success springs from early case investigation and assessment. We create a unique solution for each matter to achieve the client’s goals.

The number of employment class actions, representative actions, and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective actions has exploded over the past decade and shows no sign of abating. While a handful of recent Supreme Court cases have made modest inroads for employers, many lower courts remain supportive of employment class action litigants and may view the process as necessary to constrain employer conduct. At the same time, the plaintiffs’ bar is continuing to develop counterstrategies designed to increase employer costs and to provide itself with settlement leverage.

While employment class action proponents and plaintiffs’ attorneys promote the view that any workplace dispute is subject to class or collective treatment, we believe that every class action and every class action defendant is unique. We work early to determine our client’s goals and strategies in the litigation. We believe in early case assessment. We work out creative strategies unique to each case. And we believe that effective use of information and technology systems can be used to streamline defense costs and enhance the employer’s defense.

We have handled class, representative, and collective actions relating to virtually any workplace issue. We routinely litigate wage-and-hour cases under federal law and the parallel laws of states that include California, New York and many others (which are often employee-friendly). These claims include everything from misclassification, off-the-clock time and regular rate issues, to less-well-known exemptions and claims under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), a statute that adds potential penalties and has encouraged a plethora of employee lawsuits. We have written extensively on a range of employment class action issues, and have assisted employers in drafting arbitration agreements to deter class litigation. Through our blog, employmentclassactionreport.com, we also comment regularly on employment class action trends affecting employers.

Select Experience

Our recent employment/wage and hour class action litigation successes include the following:

  • We obtained a reversal of a years-old class action claim involving entitlement to retiree health insurance coverage before the United States Supreme Court.
  • We obtained a dismissal of putative nationwide wage-and-hour claims on personal jurisdiction grounds.
  • We have designed and defended arbitration programs with class action waivers for many employers.
  • We successfully tried a wage and hour class and PAGA action in California alleging unpaid wages, failure to provide meal and rest breaks, and related claims and penalties. The thirteen named plaintiffs, and the hundreds of employees they sought to represent, recovered only 5 percent of the relief they sought as the Court dismissed almost all claims.
  • We have successfully used both time studies and statistical analyses either to avoid class certification or to reduce class and claim sizes in settlement.

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Professionals

Name Title Office Email
Partner Orlando
Partner Atlanta
Associate Los Angeles
Associate Orlando
Associate Denver
Partner Cleveland
Associate Los Angeles
Partner Chicago
Partner Cleveland
Partner Los Angeles
Associate Los Angeles
Partner Houston
Partner Chicago
Associate New York
Partner Los Angeles
Partner San Francisco
Associate Houston
Partner Cleveland
Counsel Los Angeles
Counsel Orlando
Partner Cincinnati
Partner Cleveland
Partner Orlando
Associate Atlanta
Associate Houston
Associate Los Angeles
Partner Denver
Partner Los Angeles
Partner Orlando
Associate Cleveland
Partner Houston
Associate Cleveland
Partner Houston
Partner New York
Associate Cleveland
Partner Cleveland
Counsel Philadelphia
Partner Cleveland
Associate Atlanta
Associate New York
Labor & Employment Attorney
Labor & Employment Attorney Atlanta
Associate Los Angeles
Counsel Houston
Associate Houston
Associate Cincinnati
Partner Columbus
Associate Los Angeles

Experience

Our recent employment/wage and hour class action litigation successes include the following:

  • We obtained a reversal of a years-old class action claim involving entitlement to retiree health insurance coverage before the United States Supreme Court.
  • We obtained a dismissal of putative nationwide wage-and-hour claims on personal jurisdiction grounds.
  • We have designed and defended arbitration programs with class action waivers for many employers.
  • We successfully tried a wage and hour class and PAGA action in California alleging unpaid wages, failure to provide meal and rest breaks, and related claims and penalties. The thirteen named plaintiffs, and the hundreds of employees they sought to represent, recovered only 5 percent of the relief they sought as the Court dismissed almost all claims.
  • We have successfully used both time studies and statistical analyses either to avoid class certification or to reduce class and claim sizes in settlement.
  • We believe in early case evaluation to streamline case management, reduce cost, and identify candidates for potential early settlements.
  • We have defended claims arising out of the application of Section 7(i) of the FLSA for retail commissioned salespeople, including in arbitration.
  • We have successfully handled numerous class actions for alleged state and federal wage-and-hour violations regarding piecework arrangements.
  • We have advised and defended employers in controversies regarding bonus programs and their effect on calculation of the regular rate for overtime purposes.
  • We have defended countless employers on a wide range of wage-and-hour disputes arising out of alleged “off-the-clock,” “donning and doffing” and “boot up and boot down” time.
  • We successfully moved to decertify a collective class of more than 1,000 work-at-home employees.
  • We have handled numerous cases involving the application to “auto-deduct” policies across a wide variety of industries.
  • We successfully opposed certification of a class of truck terminal supervisors claiming that they were misclassified as exempt for overtime purposes.
  • We tried and won a class action case involving alleged entitlement to retiree health insurance benefits following a plant closing, and defended the defense judgment on appeal.
  • We successfully represented a construction company and its subcontractors in a unique FLSA and prevailing wage case in a Miami federal court. The matter received national press attention due to our strategy to move to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction because the defendant paid in excess of the federal minimum wage.

Recognition

  • Chambers USA
    • Labor & Employment – Nationwide (2021)
    • Labor & Employment ‒ California (2017 to 2021)
    • Labor & Employment ‒ Florida (2007 to 2021)
    • Labor & Employment ‒ Ohio (2007 to 2021)
    • Labor & Employment ‒ Texas (2014 to 2021)
  • The Legal 500 United States
    • Labor and employment – Immigration (2017 to 2021)
    • Labor and employment – Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions): defense (2015 to 2021)
    • Labor and employment – Labor-management relations (2015 to 2021)
    • Labor and employment – Workplace and employment counseling (2021)
  • U.S. News – Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms"
    • Employment Law – Management: National (2011 to 2022); Atlanta (2019 to 2022); Cincinnati (2016 to 2022); Cleveland (2011 to 2022); Columbus (2011 to 2022); Houston (2011 to 2022); Orlando (2011 to 2022); Washington, D.C. (2014 to 2022)
    • Labor Law – Management: National (2012 to 2022); Cincinnati (2020 to 2022); Cleveland (2011 to 2022); Columbus (2011 to 2022); Los Angeles (2017 to 2022); New York (2022); Orlando (2011 to 2022); Washington, D.C. (2017 to 2022)
    • Litigation – Labor & Employment: National (2012 to 2022); Atlanta (2019 to 2022); Cincinnati (2020 to 2022); Cleveland (2012 to 2022); Columbus (2015 to 2022); Houston (2014 to 2022); Los Angeles (2021 and 2022); New York (2019 to 2021); Orlando (2012 to 2022); Washington, D.C. (2015 to 2022)
  • Recognized as one of the top law firms for client service, BakerHostetler was named to the 2020 BTI Client Service 30 for the sixth consecutive year.

Blog Posts

Key Contacts

Blog

In The Blogs

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Employment Class Action Blog
Dead End for Class Certification? Ninth Circuit Provides Roadmap for Defending Independent Contractor Misclassification Class Claims
By Matthew J. Goodman, Todd H. Lebowitz
July 8, 2022
For businesses using independent contractor vendors, misclassification claims are usually well-suited for class certification. A plaintiff’s path toward certifying a class can be relatively smooth when all vendors of a particular kind are...
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Employment Class Action Blog
Smoother Sailing Ahead for PAGA Arbitrability Under Viking River Cruises Decision
By Amy E. Beverlin, Matthew C. Kane, Sylvia J. Kim
June 15, 2022
On June 15, the U.S. Supreme Court finally brought closure to the long-running, unsettled issue of whether California’s prohibition against arbitration agreement waivers of the right to bring representative actions under the California...
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Employment Class Action Blog
The Fifth Circuit Now Considers Who Are ‘Parties' in an FAA Action to Compel Arbitration
By John B. Lewis
November 19, 2021
By John B. Lewis In two prior blogs, we have focused on a dispute over federal court jurisdiction to confirm or vacate an arbitration award under Section 9 and Section 10 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The dispute resulted in a...
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Employment Class Action Blog
The Supreme Court Argument Only Underscored the Complexities of Federal Court Jurisdiction Over Arbitration Awards
By John B. Lewis
November 9, 2021
By John B. Lewis One might expect that the plain text of a statutory provision would be in line with the overall goal of the law. But when that statute is the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), it’s not necessarily the case. And many people...
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Employment Class Action Blog
Third Circuit Rejects District Court's Trial-Before-Certification Plan
By Gregory V. Mersol
October 20, 2021
Years ago, employers argued unsuccessfully that plaintiffs should not be able to pursue so-called hybrid claims pursuing both Rule 23 opt-out classes and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) opt-in collective claims at the same time. They noted...
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