Labor & Employment Law Blog

On November 8, 2010, the firm was successful in defeating a motion for class certification and was able to obtain an order striking the class allegations of the complaint pending in the San Bernardino County Superior Court.  Tom Kovacich argued the motion on behalf of the employer, VCI Telcom, Inc. The complaint alleged a menu of wage and hour violations, including underpayment of prevailing wages and sought to certify a class consisting of 89 workers. The court stated on the record that the case presented the closest case for class certification the court has ever had but felt that individual issues predominated over the issues common to the class.  Tom felt a critical factor in the case was the development of evidence that the company's policies and practices were consistent with the law, and plaintiffs did not carry their burden of establishing that the alleged violations were common to the class.  As a result of the Court's denial of class certification, the employer must address only the claims by the two plaintiff former employees who were employed for approximately nine months.