The six plaintiffs in this case were staffing managers who opted out of a pending class action against their former employer, Robert Half International, Inc. At its core, the case claimed plaintiffs, like the thousands of other employees in similar positions at Robert Half, were mischaracterized as being exempt from overtime laws. Their claims included overtime wages owed, missed rest and meal breaks, false pay stub penalties, unpaid or underpaid bonus monies owed to three of the plaintiffs, and a related claim under Business and Professions Code section 17200 for restitution for unfair competition. Each of the plaintiffs signed an employment agreement requiring them to pursue claims against defendants within six months of their termination. The court declared these agreements to be void and unenforceable as a matter of public policy.
RESULT: $1,609,625 ($615,000 judgment entered on Feb. 8, 2008; $978,122 attorney fees awarded on June 10, 2008; $16,503 costs).
Plaintiff – Robert C. Robinson (Quest Law Firm, Tustin); Ross E. Shanberg, Shane C. Stafford (Shanberg Stafford, LLP, Irvine).
(Reported in the Verdicts and Settlements section of The Los Angeles Daily Journal in August 2008.)