A Scranton (Lackawanna County) Pennsylvania wage/overtime lawyer just told me about a good class certification decision in Chavez v. Don Stoltzner Mason Contractor, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20073 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 28, 2011). In this case, a class of masonry workers alleged that the company failed to pay them for all hours worked by, among other things, improperly adjusting their time records and requiring them to work on Saturdays without pay. District Court Judge Matthew F. Kennelly granted Rule 23 class certification of the Illinois wage claims. In his predominance analysis, the Judge rejected the company’s argument that the evidence was too “individualized” and that the case would require hundreds of “mini-trials into the merits of each class member’s claim.” As the Judge observed, the “alleged common practice of failing to fully compensate employees for overtime hours lies at the heart of this case.” Thus, class certification is proper.
