If you are one of multiple employees who have suffered at the hands of a company, organization, or other employer, your best course of action may be filing or joining a class action. This provides similarly affected parties with joint legal representation and a faster path to justice. However, before jumping into a lawsuit against your employer, there are a few things you should consider with your class action lawyer.
Filing a Class Action with Similarly Affected Coworkers
First of all, filing a class action requires a group of comparably affected parties. If you wish to bring a lawsuit against your employer because of discriminatory hiring practices and a coworker is suing them because they have broken federal wage laws, it does not make sense for the two of you to file a class action because your complaints and their effects on the two of you are distinct. However, if you have multiple coworkers who have also been personally affected by your company’s discriminatory hiring practices, you may wish to join a class action suit together.
Filing a class action, as opposed to an individual lawsuit against your employer, gives your case more clout when brought in front of a judge. This doesn’t mean you can’t take on your employer by yourself but, like it or not, a group of employees with specific, shared grievances is more likely to be given credence than a single disgruntled worker. This is in part due to the fact that it is much easier to discredit a single employee and provide reasonable doubt about the truth of their claims, while it can be much more challenging to
Establishing a Basis for Your Class Action
In short, if your employer’s behavior or practices have harmed you and other employees, you are able to bring a class action suit. There is no minimum number of filing parties in order to file, but it is important to the success of your case that there a large portion of your fellow employees have experienced similar treatment or been similarly hurt.
There are a variety of reasons why you may wish to sue your employer, including:
- Failure to provide and maintain a safe, sanitary work environment
- Breaches of federal wage and hours laws
- Sexual harassment
- Discriminatory practices in hiring, pay, promotion, etc.
- Contribution to a hostile environment
Even if one official, manager, or other leader in your company has taken part in harmful behavior, you and your coworkers may be able to file a class action. Because an individual company leader can be assumed to espouse the company’s values, the company can be held responsible for the effects and, in some cases, forced to pay for punitive damages and liable to compensate the affected parties.
Damages You Can Receive in a Class Action Against Your Employer
The type of punishment your employer may be subject to and the amount they may be obligated to pay in damages directly depends on the nature of their offense. For example, if your company has failed to pay you and your coworkers appropriately, according to federal wage laws, a judge may order them to provide back pay for the time you have already worked, as well as punitive damages on top of that. Regardless of the offense your employer is ultimately charged with, they will also have to pay your legal fees as part of the settlement, if you win your case.
Our Philadelphia Class Action Lawyers Are Here to Serve You
At Golomb Legal, P.C., it is our mission to make sure employees of every station, race, religion, and income level are protected and treated fairly. If you have been treated unfairly by your employer, contact one of our class action attorneys in Philadelphia right away. If you are aware of any other complainants who have experienced similar mistreatment by your employer, we may be able to help you file a class action lawsuit together.
Schedule your complimentary consultation today by calling (215) 278-4449 or send us an email.