Must a plaintiff who brings an action under California’s Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) comply with Rule 23’s requirements? Although the Ninth Circuit has not addressed the issue, one California federal district court recently weighed in, reiterating the California Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Iskanian v. CLS Transp. Los Angeles, LLC that a PAGA action is different than a class action and more akin to a qui tam suit. Plaintiff, a Costco employee, filed suit ... Keep Reading »
Labor, Employment & ERISA Class Action Articles
The latest class action developments and trends in labor, employment and ERISA, including news, key cases, and strategies.
Supreme Court Upholds Use of Class Action Waivers in Employment Arbitration Agreements
In a significant decision awaited by U.S. employers since January 2017, the Supreme Court upheld the use of class action waivers in arbitration agreements. Justice Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion, which was joined by Justices Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito. Justice Ginsburg filed an extensive dissenting opinion joined by Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan. The decision answers a question that has loomed large for employers: Can they include class action ... Keep Reading »
Fifth Circuit Dashes Delivery Driver’s Bid to Keep Wage Hour Claims Out of Arbitration
In Edwards v. DoorDash, Inc., No. 17-20082 (5th Cir. Apr. 25, 2018), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed its position that arbitrability of claims, including whether class or collective claims must be arbitrated individually, is a threshold question that must be determined by the court prior to deciding certification motions. In Edwards, a driver asserted claims against a food-delivery service under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), asserting that he was ... Keep Reading »
FLSA Conditional Certification Standard Bites Plaintiffs
A district court in the Eastern District of Louisiana refused to conditionally certify a class of employees who accused their employer of intentionally underpaying and reducing hours from time records to avoid paying overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In Rowe, the named plaintiff and an opt-in plaintiff filed affidavits with their conditional certification motion, describing their personal experiences of having their working hours intentionally reduced ... Keep Reading »
Ninth Circuit Snubs Stolt-Nielsen, Holds Generic Employee Arbitration Agreement Permits Class-wide Arbitration
After an employer allegedly released personally identifiable information of its employees as the result of a phishing scam, plaintiff employee filed a putative class action lawsuit, alleging claims including negligence, breach of contract, invasion of privacy, and other claims. The employer moved to compel bilateral arbitration pursuant to the arbitration agreement plaintiff signed in connection with his employment. The district court found that the arbitration agreement ... Keep Reading »
Eleventh Circuit Doesn’t Waffle on Enforceability of Arbitration Agreement
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal found that an arbitration agreement entered into by a putative class representative and his eventual employer was enforceable even though the agreement was signed after the plaintiff filed his class action suit. The court found that the arbitration agreement included a valid delegation provision that evidenced the parties' intent to arbitrate all gateway issues of arbitrability. Accordingly, the court vacated the district court's ... Keep Reading »
Fifth Circuit Vacates Settlement Approval in ERISA Class Action, Remanding With Instructions to Reexamine the Legitimacy of Promised Future Payments
The Fifth Circuit recently vacated a class action settlement that included unsecured and uncollateralized future payments to the plaintiffs, while providing a swift and complete payout of fees to class counsel. The case concerned a defined benefits pension fund created and owned by the Singing River Health System (SRHS), a community hospital owned by Jackson County, Mississippi. Following the 2008 financial crisis, SRHS encountered financial difficulties, failed to make ... Keep Reading »
Ninth Circuit Holds ADA Certified Class Has Standing to Challenge Facilities Not Personally Visited by Plaintiff
Plaintiff, seeking declarative and injunctive relief, brought a putative class action alleging that the city and county of San Francisco failed to comply with certain requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, specifically alleging that many of San Francisco’s public rights-of-way, pools, libraries, parks, and recreation facilities were not readily accessible to and usable by mobility-impaired persons. Reversing in part the decision of the District Court for ... Keep Reading »
2017 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey Highlights
Carlton Fields recently released its sixth annual Class Action Survey, which is based on detailed interviews with general counsel and senior legal officers at 373 companies operating in more than 25 industries. Those individuals shared their thoughts and best practices on class action exposure and management. Highlights from this year’s survey include data on the types of class actions companies faced in 2016 and the likely next wave of class action. Class-Actions By ... Keep Reading »
Ninth Circuit Affirms Certification of “No Injury” Wage and Hour Class
On August 31, the Ninth Circuit continued its trend of certifying “no injury” classes, this time in the context of an Agricultural Workers’ Protection Act claim that a Washington state fruit and vegetable farm violated the statute by hiring foreign workers to fill temporary agricultural jobs without informing domestic workers of the availability of the work. The district court certified an “inaccurate information” class and an “equal pay” class. The Ninth Circuit ... Keep Reading »
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