18th Annual Workplace Class Action Report - 2022 Edition

Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report: 2022 Edition 15 discrimination cases (13 motions granted and 5 motions denied in 2021) and conditional certification in wage & hour cases (226 motions granted and 53 motions denied in 2021) remained pronounced, with a success rate ranging from 71% to 81%. The following bar graph details the win/loss percentages in each of these substantive areas: – a success rate of 57% for certification of ERISA class actions; – a success rate of 72% for certification of employment discrimination class actions (both Title VII and age discrimination cases); and – a success rate of 81% for conditional certification of wage & hour collective and class actions. The most certification activity in workplace class action litigation took place in the wage & hour space. The trend over the past five years in the wage & hour space reflects a steady success rate that ranged from a low of 73% to a high of 84% for the plaintiffs’ bar. The positive results are more concentrated in plaintiff-friendly “magnet” jurisdictions where the case law favors workers and presents challenges to employers seeking to block certification. The trend over the past five years for certification orders is illustrated in the following chart: 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% % Decertification Motions Granted / % Decertification Motions Denied % Conditional Certification Motions Granted / % Conditional Certification Motions Denied 2017 - 2021 FLSA Conditional Certification Motions And Decertification Motions 81% 81% 42% 50% 50% 53% 47% 37% 48% 63% 52% 58% 27% 21% 19% 19% 84% 16% 73% 79% 2017 2018 2019 2021 2020 2017 2018 2019 2021 2020 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% ERISA FLSA Employment Discrimination 2021 Certification Motions For Employment Discrimination, FLSA, And ERISA 72% GRANTED 28% DENIED 81% GRANTED 57% GRANTED 19% DENIED 43% DENIED