Wage and Hour Class Actions

There are few firms that can match the depth of experience Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP’s lawyers have in defending wage and hour class and collective actions and in managing the multimillion-dollar risks these cases present. We are proud to have the distinction of being included in a select group of attorneys in the country who have tried complex representative proof cases to jury verdicts, and we have a long track record of trial and appellate court victories in complex wage and hour cases across the country. We have defended virtually every substantive wage and hour claim brought under federal and state law, including cases alleging improper exemption classification, “off-the-clock” work, meal and rest period violations, unlawful deductions, “waiting time penalties,” wage statement violations, “one day’s rest in seven” violations, “fluctuating workweek” violations, failing to compensate for “donning and doffing” activities and Private Attorney General Act claims. We have formed strategic partnerships with leading labor economists and consultants to design employment and payroll data analyses to assist our clients, and we leverage our technology resources to simplify and reduce costs associated with document- and data-intensive class cases. We also have extensive experience working with clients on wage and hour remediation plans and advising our clients on reducing litigation risks.

Experience

  • Our representative experience includes:

    • Defending more than one hundred collective action and wage and hour class-action cases for clients in retail, casual dining, hospitality, professional services, manufacturing, food processing, insurance and transportation industries.
    • Lead counsel in a representative proof jury trial win for a national client in a wage and hour class action presenting “donning and doffing” and “off-the-clock” claims (Nebraska).
    • Defending multiple nationwide collective actions and statewide wage and hour class actions presenting employee misclassification claims (California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia).
    • Lead counsel in a national collective action presenting first impression "tip pooling" claims — after 98 percent of the national class was decertified, the claims of the remaining opt-in plaintiffs were adjudicated at a representative proof jury trial (Fifth Circuit and Southern District of Texas).
    • Defending multiple statewide class actions presenting wage and hour meal period and rest break claims (Alabama, California, Kentucky).
    • Lead counsel in five collective action and wage and hour class actions tried to jury using representative proof.

Insights