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Juries Hand Employers Class Action Wage and Hour Victories

Written by Gregory V. Mersol Tuesday, 14 June 2011 23:00

Jury trials of employment class actions are rare. If a case is certified, oftentimes the risk of going forward is simply too great for the employer, and it settles. Three recent cases, however, reflect that in those few class action cases that are tried, a plaintiff's verdict is far from a certainty, particularly in the wage and hour arena.

Most recently, in Johnston v. The Rawlings Co.LLC, Case No. 08-0800 (Oldham Cty., Kentucky, Circuit Court), a class of 360 medical claims examiners sought $12 million arising out of their alleged misclassification as exempt employees. Following a 3-week trial in Kentucky state court, the jury returned a defense verdict on May 27, 2011.

One day earlier, in Lopaz v. Tyson Foods, Inc., Case No. 8:06-CV-459 (D. Neb), a class of hourly meat processing employees contended that they were not properly paid for all hours of work. They specifically challenged a "gang time" system used by the employer that they claimed deprived them of pay for donning and doffing, sanitizing equipment, and similar duties. On May 26, a federal jury returned a verdict in favor of the employer. What makes this case especially interesting is that the employer had previously lost such a case in Kansas earlier in 2011 and had settled a similar case with the United States Department of Labor.

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