Rodriguez v. BELFOR USA Group, Inc.

Background

Richard Rodriguez sued Belfor USA Group, Inc., Belfor Environmental, Inc., Oakwood Construction and Restoration Services, Inc., and 1 800 Water Damage North America, LLC. He asserted claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), and other California labor laws. He alleged unpaid overtime and minimum wages, meal- and rest-period violations, inaccurate wage statements and payroll records, untimely wage payments, failure to provide reporting-time pay, unreimbursed business expenses, and unlawful or unfair business practices.

The court had previously granted preliminary approval of an amended settlement. The final settlement covered three groups: 1,049 participating California class members employed in non-exempt positions from February 25, 2018, through May 21, 2025; 4,432 potential FLSA collective members, including 488 who opted into the settlement, employed in non-exempt positions in the United States from February 25, 2019, through May 21, 2025; and 716 PAGA members employed in non-exempt positions in California from March 8, 2021, through May 21, 2025.

The settlement was non-reversionary and had a gross value of $1,622,000. The California class would receive a net settlement fund of $801,686.26, distributed according to members’ workweeks. The FLSA collective fund was $250,000. The PAGA allocation was $200,000, with 75%, or $150,000, going to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency and 25%, or $50,000, going to PAGA members. The agreement also provided for settlement-administration costs, attorneys’ fees and costs, and a payment to Rodriguez as class representative.

Court’s Analysis

For the Rule 23 class settlement, the court found that the California class remained properly certified for settlement purposes. It considered the strength of the claims, the risks and costs of further litigation, the settlement amount, the stage of the case, the adequacy of representation, the possibility of conflicts or collusion, the notice process, and the class members’ response. Four people opted out of the California class, no objections were received, and one workweek dispute was resolved by agreement.

The court concluded that the California class settlement was fair, reasonable, and adequate. It noted that the average payment from the California class fund was expected to be $764.24 and that the settlement would provide relief without the expense and uncertainty of continued litigation.

For the FLSA collective, the court concluded that the settlement was a fair and reasonable resolution of a genuine wage dispute. The 488 participating claimants were expected to receive an average of $521.92. The $250,000 settlement was approximately 37% of the estimated realistic maximum recovery for the participating group. The court also found that the FLSA opt-in forms sufficiently established the participating members’ consent to the magistrate judge’s jurisdiction.

For the PAGA settlement, the court found that the agreement met the statutory requirements, including allocating 75% of the penalty amount to the state agency and submitting the agreement to that agency. The court concluded that the PAGA settlement was fair, reasonable, and adequate in light of PAGA’s enforcement purposes.

Fees, Costs, and Representative Payment

The court approved $300,000 in attorneys’ fees, equal to 18.5% of the common settlement fund. The court found that this percentage was below the 25% benchmark commonly used in the Ninth Circuit. As a cross-check, the court reviewed counsel’s lodestar, which is the reasonable number of hours multiplied by reasonable hourly rates. Counsel billed 522.5 hours, and the lodestar was $354,517.50. The court found the requested fee reasonable.

The court also awarded class counsel $27,813.74 in litigation costs, including filing and service fees, copying and mailing, legal research, mediation, travel, and work assisting with records and damages analysis. It approved the full $32,500 requested for settlement administration.

The court awarded Rodriguez a $10,000 class representative enhancement payment. It found that he had assisted with investigating the claims, gathering information, and reviewing the settlement, and that the length of the litigation and risks associated with suing former employers supported the payment.

Order

The court granted Rodriguez’s motion for final approval of the settlement and his motion for attorneys’ fees, costs, and a class representative enhancement payment. It finally approved the settlement for the California class, the participating FLSA collective members, and the PAGA members; awarded $300,000 in attorneys’ fees, $27,813.74 in costs, and $10,000 to Rodriguez; and directed the parties to implement the agreement. The court retained exclusive and continuing jurisdiction to enforce the judgment and required the parties to file a post-distribution accounting within 21 days after completing the distributions, and no later than 210 days after the order.