Wage and hour litigation continues to out-pace all other types of workplace class actions.

Collective actions pursued in federal court under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”)

currently outnumber all other types of employment-related class actions. Significant growth in

wage and hour litigation also is centered at the state court level, and especially in California,

Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and

Washington. This trend, one likely to continue into the foreseeable future, is reflected in the

value of the top ten wage and hour settlements in 2009, which totaled $363.6 million, as

compared to only $253 million in 2008.

The most prevalent wage and hour cases are misclassification cases, where employees

allege they were improperly classified as exempt from overtime pay requirements. Some of the

largest misclassification settlements in 2009 and 2010 include:

• Poole v. Merrill Lynch (D. Or. Feb. 8, 2010) - $43.5 million:

Misclassification case related to stock brokers.

• In Re Staples Wage & Hour Litigation (D.N.J. Jan. 29, 2010) - $42 million

before reverter: Misclassification case related to assistant store managers.

• In Re Wachovia (C.D. Cal. 2009). - $39 million before reverter:

Misclassification case related to stock brokers, referred to as financial

advisers or financial adviser trainees.

• Westerfield v. Washington Mutual (E.D.N.Y. 2009) - $38 million:

Misclassification case related to loan consultants.

• Veliz v. Cintas Corp., $22.75 million (N.D. Cal. 2009). Misclassification