The year 2010 saw not just an increase in the number of workplace discrimination lawsuits being filed, but also an increase in the monetary value of settlements. Overall, the financial value of settlements of the top 10 private plaintiff employment lawsuits totaled $346.4 million, an increase of four times over the previous year.
The Velez et al. v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation accounted for a major share of that total. The lawsuit filed by 5,600 former and current employees of Novartis, ended in a settlement of $175 million. California employment lawyers also witnessed some differences in 2010 as far as employment litigation was concerned. Last year saw a drop in the total amount of settlements from wage and hour lawsuits. Last year, the top 10 private wage and hour settlements totaled $336.5 million. That is a decline of 7.4% from the previous year. However, wage and hour settlements were the most frequently filed lawsuits in 2010. There were more numbers of wage and hour class-action lawsuits and collective action decisions by both federal and state court judges than any other kind of workplace discrimination litigation.
Overall, 2010 saw much action in the employment litigation area, especially in age bias complaints. The number of age discrimination lawsuits being filed last year saw a continuance of a trend that began in 2008. As more and more companies began laying off employees, elderly workers found themselves on the receiving end, sparking off an increase in the number of age bias claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Silicon Valley was the scene of much of age bias litigation last year. Many technology companies, including Google, were the focus of age bias complaints.
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