Wage & Hour Violations

WEEE! Delivery Drivers Class Action

The Class Complaint was filed on behalf of Yi “Sunny” Song and Xiangyang “James” Ji, and all hourly delivery drivers in California dating back to March 4, 2018. In addition, the matter is being brought under the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), wherein “aggrieved employees” may file a lawsuit on behalf of themselves and other employees for employer violations of the California Labor Code.

Virginia Land Improvement Wage and Hour Class Action

According to the complaint, Defendants regularly failed to compensate the Virginia truck drivers for both straight time and overtime during weeks in which they worked over 40 hours.

Google, Inc. Wage and Hour Class Action – $5.5 Million Settlement

Former Google contract employee Tymuoi Ha filed the complaint in Santa Clara Superior Court against Google, Inc. and Urpan Technologies (UrpanTech), one of the many staffing agencies through which Google acquires temporary and contract workers. The complaint alleges that Defendants violated the California Labor Code by denying employees compensation for all overtime
worked, failing to pay owed wages upon separation from employment and not furnishing accurate wage statements.

MetLife Overtime Pay Violation Class Action

The lawsuit seeks unpaid overtime wages for Claim Specialists who worked on long term disability insurance claims (“LTD Claim Specialists”) for MetLife and two of its subsidiaries, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and MetLife Insurance Company USA.

Oracle Commissions Wage & Hour Lawsuits

Sanford Heisler Sharp has filed claims that through the use of a long and confusing set of Terms and Conditions issued to each sales representative with his or her compensation plan, Oracle unlawfully and retroactively reduced the commissions of sales representatives based on grounds, criteria, and methods not defined in a signed commission contract. The case is currently in discovery and continuing investigation.

Overland Solutions Wage & Hour Class Action – $2.4 Million Settlement

In March 2017, Sanford Heisler Sharp filed a class action complaint on behalf of Plaintiff Martin Fletscher and other California insurance inspectors who were classified by Overland Solutions, Inc. as independent contractors.

Alaska Communications Wage and Hour Class Action

Sanford Heisler Sharp represents sales employees on a class and collective action complaint in U.S. District Court in Anchorage against Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc., and Alaska Communications Systems Holdings, Inc. (Alaska Communications). Plaintiffs allege that Alaska Communications failed to pay sales employees overtime in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Alaska Wage and Hour Act (AWHA). In December 2014, the court granted conditional certification of the collective action and authorized notice to the class under the FLSA.

Novartis Pharmaceutical Wage & Hour Class Action – $99 Million
Settlement

In 2012, Sanford Heisler Sharp reached a $99 million settlement with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (”Novartis”) to resolve a nationwide class and collective action brought on behalf of thousands of Novartis sales representatives. The settlement ranks among the largest wage and hour settlements.

AT&T Wage & Hour Class Action Litigation – $28 Million Settlement

Sanford Heisler Sharp represented thousands of AT&T employees in three class and collective action cases involving the telephone giant’s failure to pay overtime to its “First-Level Managers.” The cases settled for a combined $28 million, among the largest recent wage and hour settlements.

C&S Wholesale Grocers Overtime Wage & Hour Class Action –
$14 Million Settlement

Sanford Heisler Sharp represented a class of warehouse workers throughout the United States with claims regarding failure to pay overtime. Plaintiffs successfully resolved their lawsuit for a gross sum of up to $14 million.

Fleetgistics Wage & Hour Class Action Litigation – $3.35 Million
Settlement

Sanford Heisler Sharp represented a nationwide class of over 3,000 Fleetgistics delivery drivers who alleged they were misclassified as independent contractors, denied overtime compensation and forced to pay for business expenses. Together with their co-counsel, Sanford Heisler Sharp negotiated a class-wide settlement worth more than $3 million. A federal court in Illinois granted final approval of the class settlement covering 11 states in 2015.

Ma Labs Wage and Hour Class Action

The employees allege that Ma Labs engaged in pervasive time-shaving, whereby it wrote off and refused to pay employees’ pre- shift and post-shift overtime. The company also allegedly failed to provide its employees off-duty, uninterrupted rest and meal periods, as required by California law. The workers are mostly Chinese and Latino immigrants. The court granted class certification in October 2014.

City Gear, LLC Wage and Hour Class Action

The company categorized these workers as salaried managerial employees but failed to pay them on a true salary basis. If the employees failed to work a particular number of hours per week, City Gear did not pay them their full salaries; instead, the company took pay deductions premised on an hourly rate of pay. The employees alleged that the company could not have it both ways and must pay them for their overtime. The case settled on a class basis in 2014.

Costco Wage and Hour Class Action Litigation

Sanford Heisler Sharp represents employees who worked at Costco Wholesale warehouses and were subjected to unpaid security “lockdowns” as a routine part of their work day. In December 2010, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California certified their suit as a state class action in California and a federal conditional collective action nationwide. The court later decertified the action and the case is on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On appeal, plaintiffs claim that the court misapplied the law and deprived employees of any opportunity for relief from Costco’s wage violations.

Beavex Wage & Hour Litigation

Sanford Heisler Sharp is litigating a wage action brought on behalf of delivery drivers who worked in New Jersey for Beavex, Incorporated. The Plaintiffs in the case allege that Beavex misclassified drivers as independent contractors, took illegal deductions from their wages, and failed to pay them overtime. Having successfully moved to dismiss frivolous counter-claims filed by the company, Plaintiffs are taking discovery and intend to move for class certification.