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ARTICLE · 12 JULY 2022

This Week At The Ninth: Class Certification And Misclassification

Morrison Foerster
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This week, the Court takes a close look at the standards for certifying a class action under Rule 23 and for classifying someone as an employee or independent contractor under California law.

United StatesEmployment and HR
James R. Sigel
James R. Sigel
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This week, the Court takes a close look at the standards for certifying a class action under Rule 23 and for classifying someone as an employee or independent contractor under California law.

BOWERMAN v. FIELD ASSET SERVICES, INC.

The Court holds that variations in injury and damages precluded class certification for plaintiffs' overtime and reimbursement claims, while clarifying the standards applicable in determining whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor in California.

The panel: Judges W. Fletcher, Bennett, and Bade, with Judge Bennett writing the opinion.

Key highlight: "[B]ecause the class members have not necessarily suffered damages traceable to their alleged misclassification, and because they have not presented a method of calculating damages that is not excessively difficult, they have failed to satisfy Comcast's simple command that the case be 'susceptible to awarding damages on a class-wide basis.'"

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