Seyfarth Shaw's Webinar on the 2009 Workplace Class Action Litigation ReportHighlighted in BNA's Class Action Litigation Report and Daily Labor Report
"Spurred by Economic Doldrums, Workplace Class Suits Will Proliferate, Speakers Say"

Seyfarth Shaw's Webinar on the 2009 Workplace Class Action Litigation Report was highlighted in the article, "Spurred by Economic Doldrums, Workplace Class Suits Will Proliferate, Speakers Say," published February 27, 2009 in BNA's Class Action Litigation Report and March 3, 2009 in the Daily Labor Report. Seyfarth Shaw attorneys Lorie Almon, Gerald Maatman and Ian Morrison were panelists on the February 23 webinar and all agreed that the number of workplace class action litigation claims will continue to increase in 2009 as the effects of the Obama administration's new policies and the rocky economic situation are felt.

Jerry, co-chair of Seyfarth's Complex Discrimination Litigation Practice Group, predicted, among other things, that there will be stricter enforcement by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under the Obama administration than there had been under the Bush administration.

According to Lorie, who co-chairs Seyfarth's National Wage and Hour Litigation Practice Group, there were more class actions in the wage and hour area than in all other employment law areas combined due in part to the unsettled law in this area. Under the Obama administration, Lorie predicted that there will be greater funding for enforcement of Fair Labor Standards Act provisions. She further noted, “I think the Department of Labor will work with the plaintiffs' bar and support them, but it will not take over for them in terms of finding cases to pursue.” Ian, co-chair of Seyfarth's National ERISA & Employee Benefits Litigation Practice Group, noted that the top 10 settlements in ERISA litigation in 2008 totaled a staggering $17.7 billion. This was a substantial increase over the $1.8 billion total from 2007. He predicted, “The financial industry will be in the cross-hairs of the plaintiffs' bar in 2009.”