Workers Ask Judge to Approve $18M Conagra Lawsuit Settlement

A class of workers alleging violations of California wage laws is asking a federal judge to sign off on an $18 million settlement.

The Conagra lawsuit settlement was reached following five years of litigation — commenced in October 2015 — with a proposed class action lawsuit filed by plaintiff Moises N. against the food manufacturer. The case was later consolidated with four other wage and hour suits.

In addition to Conagra, defendants named in the lawsuit included TreeHouse Private Brands, Inc., and ConAgra Foods Packaged Foods, LLC.

Seven classes were certified in March 2019, comprising workers who were employed at Conagra facilities throughout California, including in Azusa, Colton, Fresno, Helm, Lodi, Oakdale, and Visalia. The seven classes are represented by 13 class representatives with different job descriptions such as “forklift driver,” “sanitation lead technician,” “food packaging worker,” “tomato sorter” and “production line worker.”

On Nov. 16, counsel, on behalf of the class, filed a request for preliminary approval of the Conagra lawsuit settlement in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California stating that the proposed settlement was fair and had been reached “after extensive fact and expert discovery and arms’-length, non-collusive bargaining between counsel, including three mediations,” to resolve the allegations, according to the motion. Settlement discussions took place over nearly two-and-a-half years.

In a third amended complaint filed in October 2017, Conagra workers raised allegations that the company failed to provide overtime and minimum wage, wages due at termination, accurate itemized wage statements, as well as an alleged failure to reimburse business expenses related to personal cellphone use for work purposes.

The workers also accused Conagra of cutting short their meal and rest breaks due to donning and doffing time and said that the company didn’t maintain the required records. In addition, class members contended that workers were not provided with reporting pay, stating that they were required to show up for scheduled shifts and were sometimes sent home without warning or compensation.

The suit raised claims that Conagra engaged in unfair and unlawful business practices in violation of California law and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

As stated in the motion, the discovery was significant, and “defendants produced tens of thousands of pages of documents, including all relevant wage and hour policy documents, employee handbooks, collective bargaining agreements, work schedules, and Class Members’ timekeeping and payroll records.”

Depositions were conducted for each of the 13 class representatives, witnesses for Conagra, and three expert witnesses retained by the plaintiffs. The experts valued class members’ damages based on an analysis of time and payroll records.

In addition to requesting that the court approve the monetary settlement, the motion for the proposed Conagra lawsuit settlement also requests the court approve the form and distribution method for providing notice of the settlement to the class members.

According to the motion, the class will receive notice by mail to their last known addresses in both English and Spanish. Notices would also appear in both English and Spanish language newspapers in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties. Although the information isn’t available for class members who worked at the Oakdale facility, the motion states that an internet notice will meet the form and method requirements to notify the class.

Conagra Lawsuit Settlement Details

Under the terms of the proposed Conagra lawsuit settlement, each class representative would receive an incentive award of up to $10,000 or $5,000.

The settlement also would allocate $6,000,000 in attorneys’ fees, $700,000 in reimbursement costs, $75,000 in administrative costs, and $360,000 in Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) penalties — the California code that allows employees to file suit for an employer’s labor law violations.

Each class member will receive an average of $1,180.53 from the settlement.

The motion asserts that the total settlement amount of $18 million represents 38% of the maximum potential damages.

In the motion, class members noted that several circumstances warrant court approval of the proposed settlement, including the expense and time that would be incurred by further litigation. The plaintiffs contended that although they were confident in the merits of their claims, the fact that Conagra no longer operates six of the seven facilities relevant to the case could result in expensive litigation and an uncertain outcome.

“The fact that the Settlement will eliminate delay and further expense strongly weighs in favor of approval,” the motion states, further asserting that “This is a substantial recovery which takes into consideration the significant risks of proceeding with the litigation.”

The Conagra Lawsuit Settlement is Case No.2:16-cv-00631, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

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