Press & News

Jerry Maatman Quoted in National Underwriter
01/25/2008

“Class Actions Continue Upward Trend”

Jerry Maatman was quoted in the article, “Class Actions Continue Upward Trend,” published on January 25, 2008 in National Underwriter. The article also features highlights from Seyfarth Shaw’s Fourth Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report.

Jerry notes that the lesson to draw from workplace class action litigation is that private plaintiffs’ lawyers and government enforcement attorneys are apt to be equally if not more aggressive in 2008 in bringing class action and collective action litigation against employers. He states, “The class action cases decided in 2007 foreshadow the direction of complex litigation against employers in the coming year.”

The article looks to the Fourth Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report for the four key elements in such litigation for 2007: The volume of wage-and-hour litigation continues to increase exponentially, the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 continues to have significant effect on workplace litigation, the financial stakes in workplace class action litigation again increased in 2007, and plaintiffs’ lawyers have more frequently resorted to state court forums to pursue employment-related class action litigation.