Workplace Class Actions
The number of employment-related class actions reached an all-time high in 2021. With settlements totaling more than $3.62 billion. According to 2022 edition of the Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report issued by Chicago-based Seyfarth Shaw LLP. While there was initial speculation that the COVID-19 pandemic would minimize the size and pace of these settlements. Concurrently, The opposite has occurred. In 2019, these settlements totaled $1.32 billion, and in 2020, $1.58 billion.
“In the face of ongoing pandemic challenges, 2021 produced the largest workplace class action settlement. Numbers in the 18-year history of our analyses,” said Seyfarth partner and author of the annual report Gerald L. Maatman Jr. “The plaintiffs’ bar capitalized on a recovering economy. Thus, Aligning priorities with the new Biden Administration to secure a record financial haul in 2021.”
Workplace Class Actions Risks
These can be detrimental to a business. Therefore, Remaining one of business leaders’ top challenges. According to the report, the following are potential risks of workplace class actions:
- Bankruptcy—Class actions have the potential to bankrupt a company.
- Eviscerated goodwill and market share—A company with a threatened or ongoing class action may have to deal with the fallout from adverse publicity. Including decreased goodwill and market share.
- Copycat class actions—As more workplace class action plaintiffs find success, there may be an increase in copycat class actions and follow-on claims.
As federal and state legislatures and administrative agencies add to the patchwork quilt of compliance challenges. Workplace class actions become increasingly unpredictable.
Key Employment Litigation Trends in 2022
The plaintiffs’ class action bar continues to evolve and adapt to changes in legislation. Furthermore Agency rule making and case law precedents, the following are key employment litigation trends for corporations in 2022:
- Reaching new heights—Not only has the number of workplace class actions increased, but the value of the settlements has also increased. Countering expectations that the pandemic would reduce the size and pace of settlements. The aggregate monetary value of employment-related class actions was at an all-time high in 2021, with settlements totaling $3.62 billion.
