By Jacklyn Wille 2021-12-21T11:33:07000-05:00
Juul Labs Inc. signed a $1.75 million settlement resolving wage and hour claims by 370 canvassers
and phone bankers hired by the unsuccessful “Yes on C” campaign to overturn San Francisco’s ban
on vape sales, a federal court filing shows.
The deal gives the class at least 70% of their total possible projected damages and will compensate
campaign workers for 90% of their wages and liquidated damages associated with violations of San
Francisco and California’s minimum wage and overtime laws, the parties said in a settlement motion
filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The average campaign
worker, who worked less than 10 weeks for the campaign, will receive at least $1,525 through the
class-action portion of the settlement, according to the motion.
The lawsuit brought local, state, and federal wage and hour claims on behalf of former campaign
workers hired by Long Ying International Inc., who say they were misclassified as independent
contractors and not given full pay, overtime compensation, or wages due at termination. The deal
resolves allegations against Long Ying and its owner, the Coalition for Reasonable Vaping
Regulation, along with Juul, which workers say had indirect control over their wages and shifts.
The case is pending before Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr., who allowed the case to advance in April.
The campaign workers are represented by Leonard Carder LLP and Legal Aid at Work, which stand
to receive $750,000 in attorneys’ fees if the deal is approved.
Foley & Lardner LLP represents Juul. Sutton Law Firm represents the coalition. Prather Law Offices
represents Long Ying.
The case is Bautista v. Juul Labs, Inc. , N.D. Cal., No. 4:20-cv-01613, motion for settlement approval 12/20/21 .
To contact the reporter on this story: Jacklyn Wille in Washington at jwille@bloomberglaw.com
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rob Tricchinelli at rtricchinelli@bloomberglaw.com;
Patrick L. Gregory at pgregory@bloomberglaw.com
Reproduced with permission. Published 12-21-2021. Copyright 2022 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) http://www.bloombergindustry.com