California Labor and Employment

• Our team obtained an order denying class certification in a putative class action, brought on behalf of truck drivers employed in California by a national motor carrier, alleging meal break violations, unlawful wage deductions and violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) on the grounds that the named plaintiff lacked standing under the FCRA and lacked typicality and adequacy with respect to class members bound by the defendant’s arbitration agreements and class action waivers, even after the court found the defendant had waived its right to enforce the named plaintiff’s own arbitration agreement.
• We obtained an order denying class certification on a motion for reconsideration in two related wage and hour class actions for a leading financial institution, one involving financial center employees and the other involving call center employees, based on findings that there was no evidence of any de facto policies necessitating off-the-clock work or impeding the taking of meal and rest breaks, and that individual issues predominated. The court also denied the plaintiffs’ request for leave to file an amended, consolidated complaint to try to cure their class certification infirmities.
• BakerHostetler attorneys obtained an order dismissing with prejudice at the pleadings stage California state law claims for inaccurate wage statements, waiting time penalties and shared labor contractor liability in a proposed class action against a national third-party logistics client.
• We successfully compelled to individual arbitration a proposed Rule 23 Cal-WARN and nationwide WARN class action brought against a transportation industry client pursuant to the Nevada choice of law provision in the arbitration policy because, as a truck driver, the named plaintiff was found to be outside the coverage of the Federal Arbitration Act.
• Our team successfully moved to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds, based on a Wisconsin forum selection provision, a putative Rule 23 class action brought against a national motor carrier for California state law wage and hour claims based on alleged independent contractor misclassification of truck drivers, and ultimately obtained a ruling in Wisconsin state court enforcing the Wisconsin choice of law provision that effectively mooted all the plaintiff’s claims.
• Our attorneys obtained a dismissal and affirmance of that dismissal in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals of a putative wage and hour class action premised on a novel theory seeking unpaid wages for time spent undergoing airport security procedures.
• BakerHostetler attorneys obtained an order dismissing with prejudice at the pleading stage California state law claims for unpaid wages, meal and rest break violations, inaccurate wage statements, waiting time penalties, and unfair competition in a proposed class action against a global private security company.
• We defeated class certification of all California state law wage and hour claims brought on behalf of a putative class of small business bankers allegedly misclassified as overtime-exempt outside salespersons.
• Our team obtained an order granting a motion for partial judgment on the pleadings in favor of a national temporary staffing services provider on a putative wage and hour class action claim for late payment of wages under California Labor Code Section 201.3, finding that timely payment of wages occurred upon mailing rather than receipt of paycheck and that waiting time penalties are not recoverable other than for late payment of final wages.
• California attorneys represented a national food service and supply company in wage and hour class action suits filed by truck drivers asserting violations of California meal break laws. Claims were dismissed with prejudice on the grounds that they were preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act.
• We represented a financial institution in a statewide putative class and collective action alleging off-the-clock overtime and related claims. BakerHostetler attorneys successfully opposed the plaintiff’s motion to compel production of putative class members’ contact information and obtained an order limiting production and then only after utilization of a court-approved Belaire-West notice to those putative class members.
• We obtained a defense award in an arbitration in which the individual asserted claims based on gender and violation of California Labor Code Section 1102.5.
• BakerHostetler attorneys obtained a defense verdict in a disability discrimination lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
• Our team drafted a motion to compel arbitration before the Eastern District of California for a nationally recognized children’s hospital. The motion was subsequently granted.
• We represented a client in two multiweek arbitrations by former employees asserting age and disability discrimination, ultimately obtaining complete defense verdicts on each.
• Our team oversaw the preparation of a motion for summary judgment, which was granted and resulted in the dismissal of all the plaintiff’s claims pursuant to the Fair Employment and Housing Act.
• We obtained an order awarding attorneys’ fees to the prevailing defendant under the Fair Employment and Housing Act on the ground that claims of discrimination, retaliation and harassment against the educational institution were unreasonable, frivolous and meritless. The award was affirmed on appeal.

PAGA

• We represented an energy company in three related high-stakes wage and hour class and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) actions, and successfully defeated two successive motions for class certification as to the majority of subclasses alleged by the plaintiff.
• Our team successfully defended a national trucking and logistics company against a putative class and PAGA action brought on behalf of California dockworkers for alleged rest break, inaccurate wage statement and untimely final wage payment violations.
• We defended the largest beauty retailer in the U.S. against three consolidated putative class and PAGA actions brought on behalf of distribution center workers in California for alleged failure to pay all regular and overtime wages, provide compliant meal and rest periods, timely pay wages, and provide accurate wage statements.
• Our team defended a national grocery distribution and logistics company against two putative class and PAGA actions asserting claims on behalf of warehouse employees and mechanics, respectively, for alleged unpaid wages, inaccurate wage statements, break violations, untimely final wage payments and unreimbursed business expenses under California law.