Class Action Insider

In August 2022, federal courts in California and New Jersey issued two class certification decisions that may signal an uptick in worker misclassification suits. In Roman v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int’l, Inc., the plaintiffs were three janitors who alleged that the defendant violated certain labor laws applicable to employees by misclassifying the plaintiffs as independent contractors.

In the past six months, juries have awarded huge punitive damages awards in individual California employment cases. Given that these individual cases could also proceed as class actions, it is important to examine the frequency and reasoning behind the juries’ decisions.

Earlier this week the popular diet app Noom announced that it had reached a $62 million settlement with plaintiffs in a class action who brought a host of state-law consumer protection and common law claims based on Noom’s allegedly deceptive enrollment scheme.

On September 15, in a decision long-anticipated by California employers, the Ninth Circuit upheld Assembly Bill (A.B.) 51, a law that prohibits employers from requiring employees to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of employment. Arbitration agreements often contain class action waivers and thus A.B. 51 significantly impacts an employer’s ability to prevent class litigation from ensuing.