Employment or Labor Law Class Action Lawsuits and It’s Advantages

A class action lawsuit is instituted when a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court. This is governed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure thus, a class action lawsuit may only be brought before the court if the claim arises from the violation of any federal laws.

However, due to the growing number of class action lawsuits filed, the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 was enacted to prevent the abuse of representative action. Under this law, federal courts are vested with the jurisdiction to certain class actions where the amount exceeds $5 million, and in which any of the members of a class of plaintiffs is a citizen of a state different from any defendant.

Employment Lawsuits

One of the most common class action lawsuits is the employment class action lawsuit. Class action lawsuits are actually extremely popular in California, in 2008, an average of 120 work-related claims were filed with the state daily. Many of these employment claims in turn, have become class action lawsuits and as many as 10 class action suits were filed daily. An example was a class action lawsuit filed against Starbucks wherein a San Diego judge ordered the coffee giant to pay $100 million to 100,000 of its “baristas” for sharing tips with managers. 

A recent class action suit which paid off is the $85 million class action settlement of thousands of Tenet hospital employees who were denied overtime pay. Around September, roughly 23,000 current and former Tenet employees were sent checks as payment for the back wages the company owed as overtime pay.

Currently, the largest civil rights class action lawsuit also started in California when 54-year old Walmart employee Betty Dukes filed a sex discrimination claim against her employer when despite excellent performance reviews, she was denied a higher position, training and salary. The lawsuit seeks represent 1.6 million women, including all those who work or have previously worked in a Wal-Mart store who were discriminated in promotions, pay, and job assignments.

Advantages of Class Action Lawsuits in Employment Disputes

If a large group of employees has been wronged by the employer, there are certain advantages to filing an employment class action lawsuit. These are the following:

• The large number of claims aggregated into one class action lawsuit can result to the increase of efficiency of the legal process as well as reduce the costs of litigation.
• It negates the common belief that a minimum recovery is not worth the effort of litigation. In a class action lawsuit, all individuals are compensated for their injuries no matter how small the amount is.
• This would ensure that all complainants receive relief and protection against suits filed earlier against the company which may deplete the company’s funds.
• It also avoids situation where different court rulings could create "incompatible standards" of conduct for the defendant to follow.

Bringing a claim against an employer can be complicated, and it helps to talk to an attorney experienced in eployment lawsuits. Having professional representation can help ensure the plaintiffs receive the compensation they deserve. Many employment attorneys will hear your case at no charge, and give you advice and guidance regarding your claim.