Lopez v. Eurofins Scientific, Inc

Background

Rito Lopez, who worked as a packer, brought this proposed class action against Eurofins Scientific, Environmental Sampling Supply, and TestAmerica Laboratories. He alleged that the defendants did not pay him and other workers for off-the-clock work, including completing temperature checks and COVID-19 screening questionnaires before clocking in and waiting in line to clock back in after meal breaks.

The complaint asserted claims involving payment for all hours worked, minimum and overtime wages, accurate wage statements, meal and rest periods, timely payment of wages during employment and at termination, penalties under California’s Private Attorneys General Act, and California’s Unfair Competition Law. The parties conducted discovery, including production of time, payroll, and COVID-19 policy records, and participated in mediation. They accepted a mediator’s proposal to settle for $1,700,000 and agreed to resolve the federal and state cases.

Proposed Settlement

The proposed California class consists of people who were employed, had been employed, or were alleged to have been employed by the defendants as non-exempt employees in California during the period beginning November 5, 2017, and ending at the earlier of preliminary approval or June 1, 2023. The group covered by the PAGA-penalty allocation consists of people employed, formerly employed, or alleged to have been employed by the defendants as non-exempt California employees between October 25, 2020, and the earlier of preliminary approval or June 1, 2023. The class has 579 members, and 191 are also covered by the PAGA allocation.

The gross settlement fund is $1,700,000. The estimated net settlement fund for the class is approximately $1,010,333.33 after deductions for a service award of up to $10,000, attorney’s fees of up to $566,666.67, costs of up to $25,000, settlement-administration costs estimated at less than $13,000, and a $75,000 PAGA payment. Of the PAGA payment, $56,250 will go to California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency and $18,750 to the covered employees.

No claim forms are required. Each class member and covered employee will receive a proportional payment based on workweeks during the applicable period. The estimated average recovery, assuming equal numbers of workweeks, is $1,744.96. Settlement checks will remain valid for 180 days. The settlement is non-reversionary, and uncashed checks will be sent to the California State Controller Unclaimed Property Fund in the class member’s name.

Court’s Analysis

The court determined that it had jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act. Because the class had not previously been certified, the court applied heightened scrutiny to the proposed settlement and class-certification requirements.

For settlement purposes only, the court found that the proposed class satisfied Rule 23’s requirements of numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy. The court found that 579 members made the class sufficiently numerous; that common questions arose from the defendants’ COVID-19 and clock-in policies; that Lopez’s claims were typical of the class; and that Lopez and his counsel could adequately protect the class’s interests. The court also found that common questions predominated and that a class action was the superior method for resolving the dispute.

The court preliminarily found the settlement fair, reasonable, and adequate. It considered the estimated maximum damages, the risks and costs of continued litigation, the discovery completed, the mediation, the negotiations’ arm’s-length nature, and the absence of apparent collusion. The court noted that the $1.7 million settlement was approximately 66 percent of the estimated substantive wage-and-hour damages and 28 percent of the risk-adjusted total damages. The court also found the PAGA allocation to be within a reasonable range. It deferred attorney’s-fee consideration to the final fairness hearing.

Rulings and Next Steps

The court preliminarily approved the settlement and authorized the notices described in the order. It approved the notice plan, finding that mailed notice was sufficient under the circumstances and that the notice adequately explained the lawsuit, class definition, settlement terms, estimated payments, releases, hearing information, and possible fees, costs, and service awards.

The court appointed Lopez as class representative for settlement purposes only, appointed Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP as class counsel, and appointed Phoenix Class Action Administration Solutions as settlement administrator. It deferred consideration of the proposed service awards until the final approval hearing. The court also approved the proposed schedule, including a final approval hearing on January 18, 2024, at 9:30 a.m., and ordered the parties and Phoenix to perform their settlement obligations.

Class members may exclude themselves or object under the procedures in the settlement agreement. A class member who submits a written exclusion will not participate in the settlement or receive a settlement benefit. Pending further order, other proceedings and deadlines were stayed or vacated. The court stated that if it does not enter a final approval order and judgment, the proposed settlement and related proceedings will be null and void. Judge Laurel Beeler stated that the order disposed of ECF Nos. 56 and 78.