What is a Wage and Hour Class Action?
A group of workers may want to pursue a wage and hour class action lawsuit, or wage and hour collective action, if they feel that their employer has violated laws set by the California Labor Code and/or the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Often these lawsuits can represent thousands of employees who have suffered similar against their employer and lead to settlements worth millions of dollars.
If you are involved in a wage & hour class action lawsuit, you will want expert analysis and testimony to strengthen your wage-and-hour case.
Common Reasons Why California Workers File Wage-and-Hour Class Action Lawsuits
- Meal and rest breaks
- Under California wages and hour law, employees that are “non-exempt” must be given a 30-minute meal break if they work more than 5 hours in a single day, and two 30 minute breaks if they work more than 10 hours in a single day.
Employees are also entitled to a 10-minute rest break if they work more than 3 ½ hours. When an employer does not abide by these laws, it could lead to a wage & hour class action lawsuit.
- Under California wages and hour law, employees that are “non-exempt” must be given a 30-minute meal break if they work more than 5 hours in a single day, and two 30 minute breaks if they work more than 10 hours in a single day.
- Unpaid Overtime
- California labor laws regarding overtime are complex. Employees are entitled to overtime at 1.5 times their regular rate if they work more than 8 hours in a day, 2.0 times the regular rate if they work more than 12 hours in a day, 1.5 times their regular rate if they work more than 40 hours in a week, and 1.5 or 2.0 times their regular rate on the seventh day if they work all seven days in a week. Federal laws dictate that an employee who works more than 40 hours in a week is entitled to overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times their regular rate. Failing to pay overtime properly can lead to a wage and hour lawsuit.
- Off-the-Clock
- Off-the-clock work is work that is done for the employer without pay. The most common types of off-the-clock work we see are pre- and post-shift work, administrative work, re-doing work, and work done during a required meal or rest break. Under California law, the employer cannot require an employee to do work without pay.
- Misclassification
- Generally speaking, there are two types of employees: exempt and non-exempt. Examples of exempt employees include administrative, executive and professional employees. Exempt employees do not fall under the California wage and hour laws. Non-exempt employees, however, are protected by these wage and hour laws. Employees classified as exempt may sue claiming this was a missclassification.
How a CPA Expert Witness Can Impact Your Case
Whether you are a group of employees filing a wage & hour class action lawsuit or an employer with a class action lawsuit filed against you, these engagements can be complicated and data intensive. Often, an estimate or precise calculation of the company’s potential liability under Federal and California law is needed.
Hiring an expert witness can help you gather and analyze this information, and when you hire from Thomas Neches & Company, LLP, you know you are getting decades of expertise and knowledge to work on your case in CA.
Representative Wage-and-Hour Class Action Engagements
Side | Case Number | Case Name | Attorney | Law Firm |
Def | C 99 4834 SI | Lynda A. Scherrer and David M. Feinstein v. Group Voyagers, Inc., et al. | Paul J. Hall | Nixon Peabody |
Def | 02-10221-PBS | Stokes v. Grand Circle Travel, et al. | Paul J. Hall | Nixon Peabody |
Def | CV-98-7167 TJH (RNBx) | Hydrick v. Wilson | Randall R. Murphy | California Department of Justice |
Def | C 03 2605 WHA | Marian Dalke and Carole Chowen v. Titan Travel Limited | Paul J. Hall | Nixon Peabody |
Def | BC343419 | Mara Gold, et al. v. Cache, Inc. | Dale A. Hudson | Nixon Peabody |
Def | 237497 | Herrera, et al. v. DCT, Inc., et al. | Julie A. Gonzales | Palmer Kazanjian Holden |
Def | 07-463602 | Waltrous, et al. v. Group Voyagers, Inc. | Paul R. Lynd | Nixon Peabody |
Def | CGC-08-474278 | George Malak, et al. v. Unionbancal Corporation | Paul J. Hall | Nixon Peabody |
Def | SCV 244382 | David J. Guenther, et al. v. CrossCheck, Inc., United Bank Card, Inc., et al. | Paul J. Hall | Nixon Peabody |
Def | 00317275 | Nimet Behar, et al. v. Union Bank, N.A. | Paula M. Weber | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP |
Def | CGC-09-490765 | Dora Su-Ortiz, et al. v. Union Bank, N.A. | Paula M. Weber | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP |
Pln | CV 09-7433-GHK (CWx) | The Dominic Corea Limited Partnership, et al. v. ILD Telecommunications, Inc. et al. | Angela C. Agrusa | Liner Grode Stein Yankelevitz Sunshine Regenstrief & Taylor |
Def | FCS040110 | Ariann Cooper, et al. v. The Gymboree Corporation | Jeffrey M. Lenkov | Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP |
Def | BC 603619 | Steve Linares v. Menasha Corporation | Dale A. Hudson | Nixon Peabody LLP |
Def | 30-2016-00874675-CU-OE-CXC | Manual Lopez, et al. v. Stonepeak Ceramics, Inc. | Seth Neulight | Nixon Peabody LLP |
Def | 2016-9655 | Kenneth Glazer v. Socata, S.A.S., et al. | Bryan C. Dalrymple | Nixon Peabody |
Def | 3:18-cv-04097-WHO | Nancy Pierce, et al. v. Encore Health Resources, LLC | Paul J. Hall | DLA Piper LLP (US) |
Def | VCU264528 | Roberto Tellez, et al. v. Harvest Container Co., Inc. | Robert K. Carrol | Arent Fox LLP |
Def | RIC 1811646 | Johnny H. Valadez, et al. v. Inland Bells, Inc. | Dale A. Hudson | Nixon Peabody |
Def | 37-2018-00057894-CU-OE-CTL | Jorge Proctor, et al. v. Helena Agri-Enterprises, LLC | Kevin Harlow | DLA Piper LLP (US) |
Def | 30-2019-01086573-CU-OE-CXC | My Le Pham, et al. v. Plasma Ruggedized Solutions, Inc. | Paul J. Hall | DLA Piper LLP (US) |
Def | 37-2019-00036930-CU-OE-CTL | Marlon Pecayo v. Dexcom, Inc. | Kevin Harlow | DLA Piper LLP (US) |
Def | BCV-17-101973 | Donnecia Bowens, et al. v. Califia Farms, LLC | Robert K. Carrol | Arent Fox LLP |
Def | 20LBCV00279 | Johel A. Climaco, et al. v. Franco Transport, LLC, et al. | Miles L. Kavaller | Law Offices of Miles L. Kavaller |
Def | 19STC15442 | David Vasquez, et al. v. Douglas Elliman of California, Inc. | Jonathan L. Shapiro | Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP |
Work Performed in Wage & Hour Class Action Engagements
Typically, wage & hour class actions engagements involve performing the following tasks:
- Assemble daily hours worked for each class member from timesheet reports, which often are not in machine-readable format and must be input manually into a summary spreadsheet.
- Assemble employee wage information for each class member from payroll reports, which also may not be in machine-readable format and must be input manually into a summary spreadsheet.
- Combine hours worked and wage information for each employee to determine, on a weekly basis, daily (for California law cases) and weekly hours worked and the employee’s applicable regular rate.
- Apply Federal and or California labor law to determine the weekly amount of overtime pay to which the employee is entitled.
- Determine the compensation each class member actually received for each overtime hour.
- Calculate the company’s potential liability for overtime wages due under alternative scenarios regarding applicable labor law and statutes of limitations.
- In California wage & hour class action engagements, the analysis also typically includes the calculation of:
- Wage statement penalties,
- Waiting time penalties,
- PAGA penalties,
- Prejudgment interest.
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