Callahan & Blaine Announces $30 Million Settlement of Orange County Register Class Action

Callahan & Blaine announced today that a final settlement in the Orange County Register class action case (Gonzalez, et al. v. Freedom Communications, Inc., et al., Orange County Superior Court, Case No. 03CC08756) has been reached.  In the settlement, the directors and officers of Freedom Communications, the parent of the OC Register, agreed to pay…

Court Approves Class Certification for 4,000 Newspaper Carriers

On Friday, July 22, 2011, the Sacramento Superior Court ruled that 4,000 Sacramento Bee newspaper carriers are entitled to proceed as a class against the Sacramento Bee on claims that they were mislabeled as independent contractors when they truly were employees. Kathleen Dunham of Callahan & Blaine, which represents the carriers, noted that, “Certification of…

Pizza Delivery Drivers File Class Action Employment Lawsuit against Domino’s

A group of Domino’s Pizza delivery drivers was granted class-action status for a federal lawsuit filed in Minnesota. The drivers allege that Domino’s does not reimburse them for travel expenses, which in turns undercuts the drivers’ ability to earn minimum wage, as required by law. Lawyers for the Minnesota plaintiffs argue that Domino’s policy means…

Callahan & Blaine Negotiates $42 Million Settlement for Orange County Register Newspaper Carriers in Employment Lawsuit

The vast majority of newspapers in the U.S. consider newspaper delivery personnel to be independent contractors – not employees. This means that the newspapers do not have to pay the carriers any employee benefits. But when 6000 current and former carriers from the Orange County (California) Register decided to sue the paper for past employee…

Wal-Mart Gender Discrimination Employment Lawsuit to Go to Trial

According to a recent article on CNN.com Wal-Mart gender pay lawsuit heads to trial, more than a million former and current employees of Wal-Mart have formed a class action against the super retailer, alleging gender bias against employees in both pay and promotions. In April of 2010 a San Francisco based US court of appeals…

Court Clears Way for Class Action Employee Lawsuit Against California North County Times

The Federal Court clarified the difference between independent contractors and employees in a key decision: Dalton v. Lee Publications, Inc.  The Court found that the newspaper carriers can bring a class action lawsuit against the San Diego newspaper, The North County Times, as employees despite their having signed independent contractor agreements.  The Court based its…