What is a Class Action Lawsuit?
Class action lawsuits in California involve illegal practices or policies that have affected a number of employees at your workplace. The Kaufman Law Firm represents employees in lawsuits against employers who have illegally withheld wages or practiced workplace discrimination. As labor attorneys, our cases involve overtime pay and vacation pay for employees misclassified as "exempt."
When you call Kaufman Law Firm, you'll receive the services of a California labor lawyer qualified to represent you in state court and U.S. District Court. Trust Matthew A. Kaufman to protect your rights in pay disputes, and other employment issues like wrongful termination and racial discrimination. Mr. Kaufman is an experienced attorney and can help you with wage dispute employee litigation and other California class action cases and has taken such cases to trial.
If you need experienced representation by a class action lawyer who will fight passionately for your rights, please contact Mr. Kaufman at 818-990-1999 or Email Here.
California Court of Appeal Declares Circuit City's Arbitration Agreement Unenforceable
A good example of an unfair arbitration agreement is discussed in the decision of Gonlugar v. Circuit City Stores, Inc. Kaufman Law Firm represents the plaintiff against Circuit City in an overtime pay class action. In September 2004, a court of appeal said that Circuit City's arbitration agreement could not be enforced. The court of appeal found that the terms of Circuit City's arbitration agreement were so one-side that it "shocked the conscience". Among the things, Circuit City's arbitration agreement bound only the employee to arbitration, required the employee to pay fees to Circuit City just for initiating the arbitration (Circuit City pays no such fees), imposes a shortened statute of limitation on the employee (and not on Circuit City), and prohibits class actions. The court concluded that the "central purpose of the agreement" was "tainted with illegality". Click Here to read the entire text.
U-Haul Class Action Lawsuit Victory
In a case with major statewide implications, Matthew A. Kaufman successfully represented the plaintiffs in a class action for overtime pay against U-Haul International, Inc. In Crandall v.s. U-Haul International, Inc., Matthew A. Kaufman acting as one of the lead attorneys, represented 480 current and former employees, entitled "General Managers," of U-Haul rental outlets. At trial, the employees argued that the Phoenix-based company wrongly classified them as exempt from overtime requirements of California law. The plaintiffs claimed that they spent most of their work time engaged in sales and the same work as the other non-management employees at the stores. The court agreed with the plaintiffs, ruling that the evidence did not show that the employees spent over 50% of their time engaged in management work as required by state law.
U-Haul threw everything but the kitchen sink at the plaintiffs. U-Haul spent millions of dollars in its defense by hiring four law firms, an uncountable number of lawyers, and many high-priced expert witnesses. Adding to U-Haul's resources, the California Employment Law Counsel, an organization financed by big business, also appeared as a party in the case and lobbied the court of appeal and supreme court to intercede. Despite the financial mismatch, Matthew A. Kaufman proved his determination and that the employees were non-exempt by persuading the trial judge to disregard U-Haul's arguments and rule on behalf of the employees.
This is the first class action to go to trial on the issue of whether managers spent over half their work time engaged in exempt work under California law. The case, which was the subject of articles in Business Week, CFO Magazine, The Los Angeles Times and The Los Angeles Daily Journal, was closely followed by the employer's bar and lobby. The result implicates the common practice throughout the state of classifying as "exempt" employees who work on the sales floors and production lines.
Red Lobster Restaurant Arbitration
On June 10, 2005, an arbitrator employed by the American Arbitration Association ruled in favor of Kaufman Law Firm's client, Jogesh Sidhu. To read the decision, Click Here. Mr. Sidhu brought a lawsuit against GMRI, Inc., and Darden Restaurants, Inc., the owners and operators of the Red Lobster Restaurant chain. The defendant's successfully enforced the company's arbitration agreement and then argued that the arbitration agreement precluded class arbitration. The matter then went before the arbitrator who ruled in favor of Mr. Sidhu. This case was one of the first of kind and one of the first to go through the American Arbitration Association's "Clause Construction" procedures put in effect after the United States Supreme Court's decision of Green Tree Financial Corp. v. Bazzle. This decision does not represent the ultimate victory in the case, but it is a substantial step forward.
About Kaufman Law Firm
litigating on behalf of thousands of employees
The Kaufman Law Firm is a California labor law firm that's dedicated to representing employees in disputes against their employers. Matthew A. Kaufman is an experienced litigator and has had numerous trials, arbitrations, and appeals, and has litigated on behalf of thousands of employees. He's recovered millions of dollars on behalf of clients in more than 100 class action lawsuits.
Mr. Kaufman has represented workers in state and federal court and in administrative proceedings before the California Labor Commissioner. Determined and aggressive, his cases include individual disputes and class action lawsuits. The law firm is based in Sherman Oaks, California and serves greater Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County and has cases statewide.
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