The number of wage and hour class lawsuits filed in federal court dipped slightly during 2016, but employers should expect a rebound in 2017, according to a management lawyer who tracks workplace class actions.
The 8,304 Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions filed was down, compared with 8,954 such lawsuits filed in 2015, said Gerald Maatman, a Seyfarth Shaw LLP partner who is co-chair of the firm’s class action litigation practice group. But the 2015 figure was the highest since the firm formally began tracking employment law class actions in 2004, and the 2016 total is the second-highest, Maatman told Bloomberg BNA. The top 10 wage and hour settlements reached in 2016 totaled $695.5 million, up from $463.6 million in 2015, Maatman said. The long-term growth in class lawsuits against employers alleging violations of minimum wage, overtime and other wage and hour requirements isn’t stopping anytime soon, he said. The Trump administration could …