Oliveira v. Language Line Services, Inc.

Background

Sharon Oliveira and Simone Franco de Andrade Boyce brought a collective and class action against On Line Interpreters, Inc. and Language Line Services, Inc. The plaintiffs were full-time interpreters employed as nonexempt, hourly workers. Oliveira worked in California and Ohio, and Boyce worked in California.

The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants failed to pay minimum and overtime wages, provide compliant meal and rest breaks, provide accurate wage statements, reimburse business expenses, and pay for off-the-clock work. They also asserted unfair-business-practices claims under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, California labor laws, California’s Private Attorneys General Act, and the Ohio Minimum Fair Wage Standards Act.

The parties conducted informal and formal discovery, including production of company policies and payroll and timekeeping records, written discovery, an in-person deposition, and expert analysis. They participated in two mediations and reached the proposed settlement after the second mediation.

Settlement and notice

The settlement covered three groups: a federal Fair Labor Standards Act collective of current and former employee interpreters in the United States; a California settlement class; and a group of California employees entitled to a share of the Private Attorneys General Act recovery. The defendants agreed to contribute a total gross amount of $3,725,000.

The proposed allocation included $800,500 for the federal collective, $1,332,833.33 for the California class, $56,250 for employees receiving part of the Private Attorneys General Act recovery, $168,750 for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, $25,000 for service awards, $1,241,666.67 for attorneys’ fees, $50,000 for attorneys’ expenses, and $50,000 for settlement administration.

Notice was mailed to 10,792 of 10,959 class and collective members, or more than 98 percent. No class member objected, six California class members opted out, and 4,531 of 10,608 federal collective members opted in.

Certification and final settlement approval

The court confirmed certification of the California settlement class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 for settlement purposes only. It found that the class met requirements including sufficient size, common questions, typical claims, adequate representation, predominance of common issues, and superiority of class treatment. The court also confirmed certification of the federal collective for settlement purposes only, finding that its members were similarly situated.

The court approved the settlement after considering the adequacy of notice, the strength and risks of the plaintiffs’ claims, the risk of maintaining class certification through trial, the settlement amount, the discovery completed, counsel’s experience, the absence of a governmental participant, and the class members’ reactions. The court found that the settlement was fair, adequate, and reasonable; was not the product of collusion; resolved a genuine dispute under the federal wage law; and met the statutory allocation requirements for the Private Attorneys General Act.

The court therefore granted final approval of the parties’ settlement agreement. Individuals who opted out of the California class were excluded from that class, and individuals who did not opt into the federal settlement were excluded from the federal collective.

Fees, costs, service awards, and administration expenses

Class counsel requested $1,241,666.67 in attorneys’ fees, equal to one-third of the settlement fund. The court instead awarded $1,117,500, equal to 30 percent of the common fund. The court found that amount reasonable based on the results achieved, the risks counsel undertook, and a lodestar cross-check. A lodestar is an estimate based on reasonable hours multiplied by reasonable hourly rates.

The court granted reimbursement of costs up to $50,000, while stating that counsel must provide adequate proof to the settlement administrator for costs not documented in the court filings. The court approved $50,000 in settlement-administration costs.

The court awarded Sharon Oliveira and Simone Franco de Andrade Boyce $5,000 each as service awards. It also awarded each of the six early opt-in plaintiffs $1,500. Service awards compensate class representatives and other participants for work and risks undertaken for the benefit of the group.

Disposition

The court granted the motion for final approval of the settlement. It granted in part the motion for attorneys’ fees, costs, and service awards, awarding $1,117,500 in fees, costs up to $50,000, the approved service awards, and settlement-administration costs up to $50,000.