Wage and Hour Class Actions

Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe, LLP pioneered the use of class actions to recover unpaid overtime compensation for large groups of employees and continues to be a leader in this area, handling some of the nation’s largest and most complex wage and hour overtime class actions.

Results include:

• Over $200 million judgment in Bell v. Farmers Insurance, awarding unpaid overtime wages, interest, penalties and attorneys’ fees to Farmers Insurance claims representatives in California. The underlying jury verdict is the largest in overtime class action history. In addition, working as lead counsel in a nationwide class action asserting claims under federal law and the laws of several other states, we won a verdict awarding $52 million to Farmers Insurance claims representatives throughout the country.
• $24 million recovered for computer technical workers misclassified as exempt from overtime pay.
• $9.75 million paid to compensate delivery drivers who were illegally required to pay the employer’s business expenses and for overtime and minimum wage violations.
• Trial court ordered Starbucks to repay Baristas over $105 million in misappropriated tips and interest. The judgment is the largest award for tip pooling violations in California history. Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe is co-lead counsel for the class and was lead trial counsel. The judgment was reversed on appeal.
• $65 million recovered for IBM computer technical workers misclassified as exempt from overtime pay.