Watkins, et al. v. I.G., Incorporated, et al.
Apr 10, 2015OUTCOME: $200,000 jury verdict
Our clients, both hardworking family men, worked for Industrial Staffing, where their job was to clean Target Field. Industrial Staffing promised in writing to pay our clients and their coworkers a lit ... tle more than the federal minimum wage, but not by much: $8.50 or $9.25 an hour, depending on the work assignment. Yet Industrial Staffing broke its promise to pay our clients and their coworkers these hourly wages. Specifically, it didn’t pay them any wages for the 30 minutes it required them to wait around at its office before their shifts started; under the law, “working time” in this case included waiting time. In July 2013 we brought a putative class action lawsuit against Industrial Staffing on behalf of our clients and the thousands of other employees who had their wages shorted by Industrial Staffing. Like most wrongdoers who get sued, Industrial Staffing pushed back instead of trying to do the right thing. First, it brought a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which the Court denied (after we beat back the motion, Industrial Staffing discharged its lawyers, Faegre Baker Daniels). After a contentious discovery period, it asked the Court a second time to dismiss our clients’ claims. On November 19, 2014, the Hennepin County District Court filed an Order denying Industrial Staffing’s motion for summary judgment, certifying our proposed class, and appointing JRW Law as class counsel. Industrial Staffing then appealed the District Court’s Order, and the Minnesota Court of Appeals denied the appeal. The case finally proceeded to trial, where the jury vindicated the rights of our clients and their coworkers by returning a verdict allowing them to recover the roughly $200,000 Industrial Staffing stole from them. The jury’s verdict represents a resounding win for the less-powerful and disenfranchised. Our firm is proud of the jury for doing the right thing and honored our clients gave us the privilege of representing them.
