18th Annual Workplace Class Action Report - 2022 Edition

II. Significant Class Action Settlements In 2021 Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report: 2022 Edition 33 On the heels of two “down years” in 2019 and 2018 for class action settlement recoveries, 2020 marked a return to prominence for these “bet the company” cases, which was a remarkable feat given the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on society and the legal system. Despite the lingering pandemic, this momentum continued into 2021. The level of money over the past year – measured by the “top ten” settlements in the various categories of workplace class action litigation – constituted a record-setting “blockbuster” year for recoveries. The plaintiffs’ bar and government enforcement attorneys obtained many significant settlements in a wide range of areas, and the overall “top ten” settlement values in 2021 in workplace class actions increased from those in 2020 in every area except for employment discrimination and government-initiated enforcement actions. For the first time ever, class action settlement recoveries in all categories exceeded the $3.19 billion threshold. This Chapter analyzes the “top ten” private plaintiff-initiated monetary settlements, government-initiated monetary settlements, and noteworthy injunctive relief provisions in class action litigation in 2021. A. Top Ten Private Plaintiff-Initiated Monetary Settlements Plaintiffs’ lawyers and governmental enforcement attorneys secured many large settlements this past year for employment discrimination, wage & hour, and ERISA class actions, as well as governmental enforcement lawsuits. In 2021, class action recoveries outpaced settlements in every other previous year. Based on all categories, the top 10 aggregate settlement numbers in 2021 totaled a jaw-dropping record of $3.19 billion, over $1.5 billion greater than the total amount of $1.56 billion in 2020 and the total amount of $1.34 billion in 2019. To place this development in context, the top 10 settlements from these categories totaled $1.52 billion in 2021. This represented a major uptick as compared to 2020, when the top 10 settlements from these categories totaled $1.338 billion, and from 2019, when the top 10 settlements from these categories totaled $1.036 billion. As the plaintiffs’ bar has aggressively pursued various statutory workplace class actions over the past several years, the Workplace Class Action Report recently expanded Chapter 2 to include this category, which encompasses workplace personal injuries, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, biometric privacy class actions, and other various workplace-related statutory laws. The top 10 settlements in this category, which totaled $1.67 billion, exponentially increased from 2020, when it totaled $222.05 million. Settlements In Private Plaintiff Employment Discrimination Class Action Lawsuits For employment discrimination class actions, the monetary value of the top 10 private plaintiff settlements entered into or paid in 2021 totaled $323.45 million. This represented a decrease from 2020, when the total was $422.68 million, but remains a significant increase from the 2019 total of $139.2 million. 1. $100 million – Riot Games, Inc. 2. $90 million – Wexner 3. $44 million – Federal Aviation Administration 4. $34 million – Edward D. Jones & Co. 5. $14 million – Wal-Mart, Inc. 6. $12 million – PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 7. $10 million – KPMG LLP 8. $8 million – Prince George’s County