Washington Wal-Mart Workers Get Their Wish - $35 Million
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The Washington state class action by Wal-Mart employees for missed meal and rest breaks and for being forced to work off the clock finally ended this week with a payment to the workers of $35,000,000 and $10,000,000 to their attorneys. Wal-Mart (are you surprised?) denies any wrongdoing. For more on the lawsuit and subsequent settlement, click to read the Huffington Post's analysis or this coverage by Forbes. The settlement, which is just one of many for Wal-Mart, is another important reminder that liability for wage and hour violations can really add up. And it adds up really fast when the class size is over 80,000 workers.
Washington employers should check with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries for information on meal and rest break rules.
Now, Washington Wal-Mart workers, go spend those "stimulus" dollars! You have until August 19 to fill out your claim form.
How Employers Can Reduce Litigation Costs
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Employment litigation dominates court dockets around the country. And the swing to the left in the political arena is not likely to put a damper on the number of filings. Everyone knows that litigation is expensive. So . . . what can the employer do to reduce its expenses if it finds itself on the receiving end of an administrative charge or a lawsuit?
1. Early Case Assessment
Ask your attorney to provide you with an early comprehensive analysis of the case after he or she has interviewed key witnesses, reviewed key documents and researched legal issues. Doing so will give you important information about whether an early settlement is likely to save you money in the long run and give you a good idea of what you are in for if you don’t settle.
2. Manage your documents
Use your in-house IT staff to image hard drives to save the cost of outsourcing. Do a thorough job of collecting documents from all relevant players so that your attorneys and their paralegals don’t have to charge you to do this work.
3. Decipher your documents
Provide your attorney up front with a descriptive list of key players, identify key documents and provide a written narrative of the events in question. Anything you can do to compile information at the outset will save your attorney time. Saving attorney time saves you money.
4. Consider early resolution
Leave your pride and your principles at the door and consider an early, cheaper resolution. Yes, employers often say, “I’d rather pay my attorneys than the plaintiff,” but that sense of outrage wears off as litigation wears on.
5. Be open to technology
Good attorneys use document management systems and other tools to help manage cases internally. Ask if you can be included in such systems to reduce the attorney’s need to communicate with you. For example, can you receive docketing notices automatically so that your attorney doesn’t have to send them to you?
6. Check your insurance
Some employers carry employment practices liability coverage. It won’t cover all types of claims you might face (for example, a wage claim wouldn’t be covered and intentional conduct is typically excluded), and you may lose your right to select your own attorney, but, if you have it, you should notify your broker or carrier immediately by providing a copy of the charge or complaint. Other coverage (D&O, GCL) might also be in play.
7. Ask how you can save attorney time!
Don’t hesitate to ask your attorney if there are tasks you can perform in-house to reduce attorney time.
Siemens Settles FCPA Case for Record $800 Million
On December 15, German engineering company Siemens AG and three of its subsidiaries pleaded guilty to multiple violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Siemens also reached a settlement agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under which Siemens will pay a record $800 million (a $450 million criminal fine and $350 million in disgorgement of profits ) and retain an independent compliance monitor for a four-year term. Combined with penalties levied by the German government, Siemens will pay a total of $1.6 billion to settle the bribery charges. That's no typo: $1.6 billion. That's a Dr. Evil ransom.
What did Siemens allegedly do that was so bad? According to the U.S. Attorney General's office, among other things, Siemens paid over $800 million in bribes to foreign officials. Perhaps Siemens didn't realize that the FCPA makes it illegal to bribe a foreign official to get business. The FCPA also requires issuers (companies whose stocks trade on U.S. exchanges) to have internal controls and to maintain accurate books and records.
Want to avoid ending up paying $1.6 billion to settle a case? The U.S. Department of Justice has published this handy Layperson's Guide to the FCPA. If you do business overseas, be sure that your employees are trained on the FCPA and understand the limitations it places on their actions abroad.
Minnesota Wal-Mart Employees Get $54 Million Christmas Present
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced yesterday that it will pay $54.25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over allegations that Wal-Mart made its employees work during break time and off the clock after regular working hours. The class consists of approximately 100,000 current and former hourly employees who worked at Minnesota Wal-Marts and Sam's Clubs between September 11, 1998 and November 14, 2008. Click here to read MSNBC's coverage of the settlement.
This isn't Wal-Mart's first major settlement, and it might not be the last: according to Wal-Mart's 10-K filings with the SEC, it has to date settled 76 similar class-action lawsuits across the country. The lesson for employers? Carefully follow the wage and hour laws of each state in which you do business. If you have employees in Minnesota, the state's Department of Labor and Industries has a great website with lots of valuable compliance tips and information.
City of Vancouver Settles Race Discrimination Suit for 1.65 Million
The City of Vancouver, Washington announced yesterday that it will pay a former police officer $1.65 million to settle a federal retaliation and racial discrimination lawsuit he filed two years ago over his termination. To read the Oregonian's coverage on the case, click here.
This isn't plaintiff Navin Sharma's first settlement with the city: he settled another race discrimination claim against the city in 2001 for $287,000. In the most recent lawsuit, Sharma claimed that his 2006 firing was in retaliation for his 2001 settlement. Vancouver admits no wrongdoing, but claims that the cost of a trial and keeping police officers in the courtroom for two or three weeks instead of performing their regular police duties promted the settlement decision.
Sharma's attorneys are calling the settlement the Northwest's largest-ever individual settlement for employment discrimination. We'll never know for sure: most discrimination cases are settled privately and the terms are confidential. This settlement is public only because the 'Couve is a public entity. In any event, it appears that the bar has been raised.
New Study Suggests Defendants Should Try More Cases
According to a recent study, plaintiffs in civil lawsuits should be more willing to settle their cases, and perhaps defendants should stick to their guns and take more cases to trial.
The study (as reported in this New York Times article), concludes that when plaintiffs reject the defendant's settlement offer and go to trial, they end up with a worse result 61% of the time. Defendants fare far better: only 24% of the time do defendants receive a worse result at trial than they would have had the plaintiff taken their last settlement offer. In 15 percent of the cases, both sides were right to go to trial — the defendant paid less than the plaintiff demanded but the plaintiff won more than the defendant offered.
The full results of the study will be published in the September Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. We'll be waiting to see if the full published study makes any recommendations specific employment litigation.
