Class actions and collective actions are procedures that allow many employees to join together to bring legal claims against their employers. Class action procedures are commonly used where employers have engaged in illegal activities that affect a large number of employees. Class action lawsuits are especially useful where an individual employee’s claim would be too expensive to litigate alone. A good example is a requirement by an employer that employees work “off the clock” during scheduled break times. By combining many claims into a collective action lawsuit, an individual may be able to vindicate a right to wages that would be too expensive to be brought as a single action.
Class actions can often be brought for violations of employment laws where a group of employees were all subjected to the same illegal practice. The employment lawyer teams at Willig, Williams & Davidson have pursued class actions and multi-plaintiff actions alleging many forms of job discrimination including, age discrimination, race discrimination, and gender discrimination, as well as wage and hour litigation related to overtime pay, minimum wage, and meal and rest break violations