Wage and Hour Litigation Leads 2007 Workplace Rulings

Wage and hour litigation pursued under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act produced more rulings in 2007 than any other type of workplace class action, and the pursuit of such litigation is expected to continue through 2008, according to an annual report by Chicago-based law firm Seyfarth Shaw.

The report, Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report: 2008 Edition, analyzes 508 class action rulings on a circuit-by-circuit and state-by-state basis during the past 12 months.

According to the report, the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida experienced more wage and hour filings than any other federal jurisdiction. But the most significant growth in wage and hour litigation was at the state court level, with California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas taking center stage.

In 2007, the 10 largest class-action wage and hour settlements totaled $319.3 million, compared with $282.1 million for the 10 largest class-action employment discrimination settlements, the report said. The 10 largest Employee Retirement Income Security Act workplace settlements, however, totaled $1.82 billion in 2007.

It is the first time in five years that the top 10 wage and hour and ERISA class-action settlements outpaced employment discrimination settlements in overall values, Seyfarth Shaw said.

TOP 1O WAGE AND HOUR SETTLEMENTS
The largest wage and hour settlements entered into or paid in 2006, in millions:
1. $98 Citgroup Global Markets
2. $89 UBS Financial Services
3. $87 United Parcel Service
4. $65 IBM
5. $42.5 Morgan Stanley
6. $38 24 Hour Fitness
7. $37 Merrill Lynch
8. $27.5 Siebel Systems
9. $15 Sear Roebuck
10. $14.9 Electronic Arts

Source: Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report 2007 Edition, Seyfarth Sahew
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To obtain a free copy of Seyfarth Shaw’s latest report, contact the firm at seyfarthshaw@seyfarth.com.

Filed by Sally Roberts of Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.