2017 saw a record high 1,408 class action lawsuit ruling, according to a report in the news website HR Dive.
For 2018, the same report (Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s 14th annual “Workplace Class Action Litigation Report“) predicted rising settlement costs but more decertification wins for employers and more rollbacks in government enforcement by the Trump administration.
Of particular note is the fact that settlements on wage and hour cases alone hit $1.2 billion.
“The figures on wage and hour cases are particularly jarring for employers, but they explain why this area of employment law has rated particularly high on the list of concerns among both HR professionals and their in-house counsel,” says author Valerie Bolden-Barrett.