Class action workplace litigation filings were up in 2008, as more companies laid workers off because of the economy -- and the trend is expected to continue this year.
That's the conclusion of a report by Chicago-based Seyfarth Shaw, according to a National Law Journal article (subscription required). The firm analyzed 2008 class action and collective-action workplace filings, rulings, and settlements in state and federal courts.
"It's a little bit of a perfect storm with the economy right now," said Gerald Maatman Jr., the Seyfarth Shaw partner who oversaw the report.
Maatman said he expects to see more laid-off workers filing age discrimination lawsuits, more workers filing Employee Retirement Income Securities Act (ERISA) lawsuits in hopes of recovering losses to their 401(k) plans, and more plaintiffs filing lawsuits to test out government regulation of workplace issues under the new Obama administration in 2009.
According to the report, the number of ERISA claims shot up in 2008 as plaintiffs sought recovery for losses to their 401(k) plans.
The report also found that more displaced workers filed age discrimination and Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification lawsuits in 2008. Wage-and-hour litigation also rose. In 2008, that increase was most prevalent in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.
A related item: An employment law update from law firm Fox Rothschild reminds readers of a California law, created in 2003, which prohibits an employer from ordering a mass layoff, relocation, or termination at a covered establishment unless the employer gives written notice of the order 60 days before it takes effect. The law is often referred to as "Cal-WARN."