Articles Posted in class action

On April 12, 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) issued a ruling that clarified many outstanding questions in class action practice in Massachusetts.  In Gammella v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc., 482 Mass. 1 (2019), the SJC provided guidance on: (1) the standard for class certification under the Massachusetts wage and hour laws; (2)…

Across the country, employers are requiring employees to sign agreements waiving any right to be part of a class action. These class action waivers have been the subject of substantial litigation as the stakes are high on all sides, and Courts across the country have given varied opinions. Some of that will soon come to…

Dodd-Frank protects individuals who provide “information relation to violation of the securities laws to the [SEC].” The SECC rules issued in 2011 interpret those protections to cover individuals who make disclosures internally, as well as directly to the SEC. The Second and Ninth Circuits agree with the SEC, and the Fifth Circuit disagrees. The case,…

A Federal Court in North Carolina has conditionally certified a nationwide class action lawsuit under the Fair labor Standards Act for the 18,000 drivers who opted out of Uber’s arbitration clause. The case challenges Uber’s classification of its drivers as independent contractors. If you’re working in a job where you’re classified as an independent contractor,…

We are proud to announce that the Superior Court rejected the City of Brockton plea to reduce the jury’s $4M verdict in its battle against our client, Russell Lopes. (View Article)

The Department of Justice just switched sides, and now supports class action waivers. For the past few years, the DOJ has defended the national Labor Relations Board’s position that class action waivers violated the NLRA and were unenforceable. No more. In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, the DOJ stated that, “After the change…

Patrick Murphy of Lawyers Weekly interviewed Philip Gordon on proposed legislation to combat wage theft. Gordon discussed subsidiary pyramid schemes and their impact on wage theft. Take a look at the article: “Renewed push vowed for beefed up wage theft bill” (October 13, 2016) (View Article)

Philip Gordon Co-Chairs the panel on class actions at the 37th Annual Labor and Employment Law Spring Conference of Massachusetts Bar Association on May 6, 2016 (View Article)

A significant gender discrimination lawsuit recently reached a proposed settlement of $3 million for 101 women working for Publicis group. The lawsuit grew out of concern by women about the public relations giant’s practices concerning equal pay, promotion and opportunities, as well as specific allegations of open gender inequity. Specific claims by the lead plaintiff…

A $188 million judgment for damages has Wal-Mart officials asking the United Supreme Court to step in. The dispute started with a Pennsylvania class action lawsuit, involving approximately 187,000 Wal-Mart employees who worked for the company between the years of 1998 and 2006. The employees alleged that they were forced to skip breaks or otherwise…