United States District Court, C.D. California
ORDER AND JUDGMENT GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION
FOR APPROVAL OF PAGA SETTLEMENT AND REASONABLE ATTORNEYS'
FEES, COSTS, AND ENHANCEMENT AWARD
DALE
S. FISCHER UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This
matter came on regularly for hearing before this Court on
October 28, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. Having considered the
parties' Amended Settlement Agreement, the documents and
evidence presented in support thereof, and recognizing the
disputed factual and legal issues involved in this case, the
risks of further prosecution, the benefits to be received by
the State of California and the Aggrieved Employees pursuant
to the Settlement, the fair, reasonable, and adequate nature
of the settlement obtained as a result of good faith
arm's-length negotiations between the parties, the Court
makes a final ruling that the settlement is approved pursuant
to Labor Code § 2699(1). Good cause appearing, the Court
GRANTS Plaintiff's Motion for Approval of PAGA Settlement
and Reasonable Attorneys' Fees, Costs, and Enhancement
Award and ORDERS as follows:
1. The
“Aggrieved Employees” shall be defined as:
All current and former employees of Tech Data with the title
of “Professional Services Engineer” (or similarly
titled position) who were employed from June 28, 2017 until
the date that the Court approves this settlement (“PAGA
Period”).
2. The
Court approves the Settlement as set forth in the Amended
Settlement Agreement as fair, reasonable, and adequate, and
directs the parties to effectuate the Settlement according to
the terms of the Amended Settlement Agreement.
3. The
Court orders that Defendants Tech Data Corporation
Transacting Business in California Under the Name: TECD
Corporation and AVT Technology Solutions LLC (collectively
“Tech Data” or “Defendants”) shall
deposit the Maximum Settlement Amount of $90, 000.00 to the
Settlement Administrator within 30 calendar days of the
Effective Date.
4. The
Court approves, as to form and content, the Notice of PAGA
Settlement and Release of Claims, submitted by the parties.
5. The
Court appoints CPT Group, Inc. as Settlement Administrator.
6.
Within ten business days after the Effective Date, Defendants
will provide CPT Group, Inc. with a list containing the
Aggrieved Employees' full name, last known mailing
address, last known telephone number, start date(s) of
employment, end date(s) of employment, total pay periods
worked, and Social Security numbers. The list will also
include the sum total of all pay periods worked by Aggrieved
Employees during the PAGA Period.
7. CPT
Group, Inc. is directed to mail the individual settlement
payments and Notice of PAGA Settlement and Release of Claims
to the Aggrieved Employees within two (2) business days of
approval of the anonymized spreadsheet containing the
individual settlement payments to each Aggrieved Employee and
the data used to calculate said payments from the parties.
8.
Considering the unique circumstances of this case, including
the change in the law, the Court finds that attorneys'
fees in the amount of $30, 000.00 for Plaintiff's
Counsel, and reimbursement of litigation costs of $7, 435.15
to Plaintiff's Counsel are fair, reasonable, and
adequate, and orders that the Settlement Administrator
distribute these payments to Plaintiff's Counsel as
provided for in the Amended Settlement Agreement.
9. The
Court orders that the Settlement Administrator shall be paid
$3, 750.00 for all of its work done and to be done until the
completion of this matter and finds that sum appropriate.
10. The
Court has been provided with very little information
concerning the contribution of the Plaintiff and based on
that information finds that an enhancement award of $2,
000.00 to Plaintiff is fair and reasonable, and orders that
the Settlement Administrator distribute this payment to
Plaintiff as provided for in the Amended Settlement
Agreement.
11. The
Court finds that the allocation of the Net Settlement Amount
as Labor Code Section 2699(i) civil penalties, to be
distributed 75% to the California Labor & Workforce
Development Agency(LWDA) and the remaining 25% to the
Aggrieved Employees, is fair, adequate, and reasonable, and
orders that ...