Facts

Plaintiff Kern Peng was employed as an instructor for defendant The President and Board of Trustee of Santa Clara College (which is also known as Santa Clara University). Plaintiff filed a class action lawsuit against defendant for various wage and hour violations. Plaintiff asserted claims on behalf of two distinct classes: (a) all of defendant's employees (almost 6,000 employees) based on the employer name on the wage statements issued and (b) approximately 1,023 instructors and adjunct lecturers based on the payment structure provided to them.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that defendant failed to provide plaintiff accurate wage statements in violation of Labor Code Section 226(a)(8). Plaintiff contended that the wage statement was incorrect because it named "Santa Clara University" as the employer; however, the correct legal name of the defendant employer is "The President and Board of Trustee of Santa Clara College." Plaintiff also contended that defendant failed to authorize off-duty rest breaks in violation of Labor Code Section 226.7 to instructors and adjunct lecturers. Lastly, plaintiff contended that defendant failed to provide plaintiff proper compensation that was due upon plaintiff's termination in violation of Labor Code Section 201 through 203.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied plaintiff's contentions. Defendant contended that it is commonly-known and recognized as "Santa Clara University" and thus, there was no Labor Code Section 226(a)(8) violation. Nonetheless, defendant timely cured the Section 226(a)(8) claim. Defendant also contended that plaintiff was properly classified as an instructor and thus, received all payment due to him. Defendant contended that it complied with all applicable wage and hour laws.

Result

The court preliminary approved the class action settlement. According to the terms of the settlement, defendant agreed to pay $1,900,000 to settle plaintiff's claims. Plaintiff's attorney will be awarded $633,270 in attorney's fees, and $25,000 in costs. In addition, each class representative will be awarded a service award of $7,500. and $6,750 will be awarded as settlement administration costs. Moreover, $25,000 will be allocated to PAGA, of which $18,850 will be paid to Labor Workforce Development Agency.