Facts

Dale Wilson filed a class action lawsuit against TE Connectivity Networks, Inc. and Tyco Electronics Corporation in relation to defendants' employment and compensation practices.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Wilson alleged that he dealt with interrupted or missed meal breaks as a result of pressures of work or interruptions by his supervisor, and in an ordinary week that he did not get a full meal break on three out of five days. Wilson contended that due to defendants' automatic deduction policy, defendants did not properly compensate him for his missed or interrupted meal breaks. Wilson asserted causes of action under the Labor Code and Unfair Competition Law for failure to provide meal periods, failure to provide rest periods, failure to pay hourly wages, failure to provide accurate written wage statements, failure to timely pay all final wages, unfair competition, and civil penalties.

DEFENDANTS' COTNENTIONS: Defendants contended they complied with all state wage and hour laws and plaintiff or class members are not entitled to any recovery.

Result

The parties agreed to a settlement under which defendants agreed to pay $4.96 million for 1,300 class members. Of this sum, defendants agreed to pay $1.65 million in attorneys' fees, $50,000 in litigation costs, $45,000 in settlement administration costs, $7,000 as an enhancement award to Wilson, and a $50,000 civil penalty paid to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.