News

December 12, 2016

A class action is a form of civil litigation available for a group of individuals who have been injured in a similar manner, in order to seek compensation as part of a group action. Eligibility for a class action requires that the victim be harmed by the same defendant and received similar injuries from the same product or action as other members of the group or class. Class actions are initiated for many reasons, including:

• Employee discrimination or harassment
• Unfair employment practices, including unpaid wages
• Injuries resulting from defective pharmaceuticals, motor vehicles, toys and medical devices
• Consumer fraud
• Corporate misconduct

The rules of civil procedure outline specific regulations which govern class action suits. In order to file a class action suit, the group of individuals alleging injury must be so numerous that joining the members in a typical lawsuit would be impracticable. Additionally, the representative party must fairly and adequately protect the interests of the entire group.

A representative party is a smaller segment of the class that acts for the benefit of the larger group that has the same or similar injuries as the group that he or she purports to represent. Using a representative party helps to ensure that a suit is ultimately prosecuted, even if all parties cannot participate. Since victims may be spread all over the country, it may be difficult for all members to participate in the trial. Additional factors can make attendance either impossible or a great inconvenience, resulting in courts allowing a small segment of the class to represent the whole.

Benefits of Filing a Class Action Suit

Class action suits are ultimately an efficient alternative to numerous individual suits. Class actions bring together many individual claims at once and allow a judge to make a determination for the entire group. Without this legal device, many injured individuals with small claims might not be otherwise unmanageable or redressable by the judicial system.

In addition to being an efficient means of process, class actions can be advantageous for victims. Litigation is often very expensive and the cost can deter many victims with injuries from pursuing compensation. Filing as a group cuts costs significantly, as they are spread out among all participants.

These suits also aim to provide compensation for all injured parties that might otherwise not be available to them. Each member of the class generally receives a percentage of the total award or a specific dollar amount. In rare cases, individualized reviews of each plaintiff’s claim are completed to tailor an award to each claim. In contrast, if individual suits are filed, the payments are made on a first come first served basis. As a result, if the defendant files for bankruptcy many victims may receive no payment at all.

If the participants of a class action choose to settle the claim, they must receive the approval of the presiding judge. The judge will review the proposed settlement to ensure it is fair to all parties involved before making a determination.

Class Action Suits and Employment Law

Class action suits are not an uncommon way to pursue justice for employment law
violations. Business practices like failure to provide promotions or fair wages based on gender or race, failure to provide overtime pay or vacation time and failure to reimburse employees for business expenses rarely impact just one worker. Instead, these violations may be embedded in corporate culture. As a result, a large group of employees are likely affected by unfair employment practices, making a class action appropriate in many employment law violation cases.

If you or a loved one is the victim of workplace violations, remedies are available. It is important to contact an experienced employment law lawyer to better ensure that all your legal rights and remedies are protected, including the potential to join an appropriate class action suit.