The general reason for a class action is to allow numerous people who have a valid claim against a party to have their case decided in a single action. In such a case, specific people (representative plaintiffs) will assert claims for the entire class members so that each person with similar claims need not file a separate case. The court will decide if the proposed class meets certain criteria, and it can then certify the class giving the members class action status.
There have been numerous types of class actions over the years, but recently, they have been in the areas of 1. Employment Class Actions such as Overtime Pay cases and cases where workers are denied meal breaks or rest periods; 2. Product Liability, i.e. drug manufacturer cases, auto safety; 3. Securities, such as improper conduct by trading firms, and 4. Consumer Class Actions, i.e. overcharges and bad loan practices.
If you think you may have rights that can be legally addressed via a class action case, a good place to begin your research is on the internet. This can lead you to information about your case, and refer you to lawyers who are already involved and representing a class currently in litigation.
If you are employed in California and quit your job or are fired, you are entitled to be paid for any vacation benefits that you did not use prior to leaving. While this sounds relatively simple, we are finding that many employers, especially large ones who have locations throughout the country, often fail to comply with California' strict rules on this subject.
In most states, an employer can tie vacation pay directly to anniversary dates. For example, an employer can say that after the first year of employment, you are entitled to a week of vacation in the next year. In those states, if you quit before your first year is out, you get nothing. That is not true in California. In that situation, if you quit before your first year is over, you would be entitled to the amount of vacation pay that "accrued" (accumulated) during the year. Thus, if you only were employed for 6 months, you would be entitled to 1/2 of the amount of vacation that you would get after a full year.
While an employer can make you wait until an anniversary date to actually use your vacation benefit, if you quit or are fired, you must be paid all accrued vacation benefits at the time you receive your final paycheck. If you don't, you have a right to recover it, and may even be entitled to certain penalties (up to 30 days of additional pay) under certain circumstances.
You have a right to receive all your vacation pay. If you don't get it, take action!!!
