Contact: Rick Bergstrom or Dan Westman
Morrison & Foerster’s Employment and Labor Practice Group has extensive experience in litigating and resolving complex employment
class actions, including wage and hour, discrimination, and ERISA claims. We have defeated class actions through dismissal,
summary judgment, denial of class certification, and trial, where necessary. We have also obtained very favorable settlements
consistent with the client’s best interest.
We emphasize early strategic evaluation of the case and litigation options in order to deliver a result consistent with our
client’s business objectives. Having defended many of these cases, we already know the substantive law and can therefore immediately
begin to focus on procedural strategies and evaluation of the facts.
Our Employment and Labor Practice Group represents clients in various industries, including financial services, information
technology, retail, insurance, and transportation.
Representative Matters
The Coca-Cola Company. We represented The Coca-Cola Company in a putative nationwide class action seeking overtime pay for thousands of employees
classified as exempt. The class allegations were dismissed following resolution of the individual claims.
Marriott International. We defended Marriott in one of the first class actions filed alleging violation of San Francisco's recently enacted Minimum
Wage Ordinance. The alleged class included all hourly employees at three Marriott hotels in San Francisco and numbered approximately
1,000 employees. Following our answer to the complaint raising affirmative defenses, including a union-negotiated waiver,
we mediated the case and obtained a favorable settlement.
McDonald's Corporation. In a recent litigation matter for McDonald’s, the judge granted our motion to strike class allegations seeking to require
McDonald's to bring all of its restaurants in California (more than 1,000) into compliance with state disability access laws.
The court struck these allegations based both on plaintiff's lack of standing and the lack of any allegations to establish
a “well defined community of interest” in the wide-ranging alleged class. In addition, in a somewhat amazing turn of events,
the judge proceeded to strike the class allegations in ten other complaints that were coordinated with the McDonald's case
without any motion by the other defendants. The matter was subsequently dismissed without payment of any sums by McDonald's.
Kyocera. We represented Kyocera in an ERISA class action on behalf of thousands of employees. The action was dismissed with prejudice
based on our motion for summary judgment.
Livermore National Laboratory. We represented Livermore National Laboratory in an equal pay class action involving thousands of potential class members.
We resolved the case after obtaining summary judgment against the lead plaintiff.
Siemens. We are representing Siemens in an action for unpaid wages filed on behalf of hundreds of nonexempt employees.
SunGlass Hut. We represented SunGlass Hut in a class action on behalf of thousands of employees for missed meal and rest periods. The action
was favorably resolved.
UPS. We represented UPS in a putative nationwide class action for discrimination, and we successfully defeated the motion for
class certification.
Westat. We represented Westat in a putative nationwide class action under the FLSA, and we resolved the case on terms favorable to
the client.
