Class Action Avoidance and Defense

Avoidance

Large companies routinely employ thousands of workers in hundreds of capacities in multiple operations nationwide. Every day they make hundreds of personnel and policy decisions that affect scores of employees throughout the organization. Taken separately, these acts have little impact outside of the person and the department affected. Together, they can form the basis of an employment class action, to devastating effect.

Class action avoidance is a cornerstone of Littler's practice. The Firm's Class Action Practice Group works with large, brand-name businesses across industries, and helps them discreetly identify and remedy vulnerable pay and personnel policies and practices. While most class actions center on state wage and hour laws litigation, anything from hiring practices, pay inequality, termination rates, or discipline can lead to the filing of a claim. The Firm shows employers how company policies and practices can be quantified, and put in perspective, in the event they are ever attacked.

The co-chair of the Firm's Class Action Practice Group is a former labor economics professor with a background in statistical modeling. With his lead, Littler regularly employs expert statistical consultants to mine employee data to determine areas of concern and advise on ways to proceed. As part of the analysis, the Firm examines every aspect of the company’s policies, from descriptions of individual job duties to the tests used to support hiring and promotion decisions. The Firm makes recommendations to ensure that overtime exempt classifications are made correctly and members of protected classes are being treated fairly, and within the letter of the law. In addition, the Firm reviews personnel policies, recommends modifications to applications and other documents, and advises employers on information gathering to ensure that company decisions are being made in practice the way they were intended in design. Ultimately, Littler’s deep experience in class action avoidance and systematic approach to data analysis can provide a strong foundation of security against class action litigation.