The workplace plaintiffs’ bar scored settlements worth nearly $2 billion combined and had a high rate of success gaining class certifications in employment bias, benefits, and wage and hour cases in 2022, according to a report from the law firm Duane Morris LLP.
Government enforcement actions decreased in 2022, but “more aggressive federal and state agency litigation against corporations” is expected for 2023, the report said.
Employment Discrimination
The 10 highest settlements in class employment discrimination cases in 2022 totaled $597 million, including $175 million Sterling Jewelers Inc. paid to settle a long-running sex bias suit and Google LLC’s $118 million resolution of a pay discrimination case.
Nine of those settlements came in sex bias-based lawsuits, and the other one came in a religious discrimination case over Covid-19 vaccine requirements.
Class certification was granted 53% of the time it was sought in workplace discrimination suits, or in 8 out of 15 cases.
ERISA
The year’s 10 highest-grossing ERISA class settlements were worth a combined $400 million. Most of that amount came from a $267 million settlement between PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and a class of about 16,000 retirees who’ve spent 16 years litigating over various aspects of their pension plan.
More than half of the year’s 10 largest settlements were reached in...
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