In the State of California Superior Court, County of Santa Clara, initial approval was given to a $5 million Intel wage settlement offered by the technological giant to resolve a class action wage and hour lawsuit filed in March 2017.
The Intel wage settlement was preliminarily approved by a state judge on Friday, June 8, 2018. Hearing for the final approval phase of the settlement has been put on the court’s calendar for Oct. 26, 2018.
The initiating plaintiff of this legal action, Medina A., was employed in the capacity of administrative assistant for Intel in the State of California. According to a Law360 article on the Intel wage settlement, Medina often worked in excess of 11 hours per day with some shifts as long as 16 hours.
Medina claims that she, along with several other hourly, non-exempt employees, were rarely paid for more than eight hours per day. The expectations were that any worker for Intel would do what it took to get the job done and that included often working off the clock, she claims.
The class period was set in the lawsuit from Nov. 10, 2012 through April 19, 2018 and includes all current and former hourly, non-exempt employees within this time frame working in logistical, clerical, janitorial, and administrative roles. Because this gleaned only 3,018 people, the state judge questioned the defendant prior to granting initial approval to the Intel wage settlement.
The Law360 article reported that Superior Court Judge Thomas E. Kuhnle questioned Intel’s counsel as to why there were so few class members when the company claimed it had 13,000 employees in California.
In the Intel wage settlement preliminary hearing, the defendant’s counsel indicated that other states had more employees in this category whereas California sites had more professional salaried roles.
Both counsel for Intel and class counsel affirmed that every effort was made to reach out to current and former California hourly, non-exempt employees within the time period identified. Each responding class member in the State of California will net an average of $1,065.84 of the Intel wage settlement.
Additionally, attorney fees totaling $1,666,650 and other court costs of $25,000 are part of the $5 million. Finally, a payment of $15,000 payment for Medina’s role as class representative is included.
The allegations in the original lawsuit included failure to pay base rate of pay for all hours actually worked, failure to pay workers at one and one-half times their base rate of pay for any hours over and above forty in a seven-day work week, and failure to provide adequate and statutorily required rest and meal breaks.
Judge Kuhnle, in granting this initial approval, had to weigh the chance that the plaintiff’s case might fail if it went to court against the offered $5 million Intel wage settlement. If it went to trial and failed, the class members would end up with no wage recovery. The costs of carrying on with the case could might also have grown exponentially.
The Intel Corp. Lawsuit is Case No. 2016-1-CV-302615 in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Santa Clara.
Join a Free California Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay within the past 3 years in California, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2026 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
