Wyndham $7.3M Wage and Hour Class Action Settlement Okayed

On August 7, 2017, an initial approval was given by a U.S. District Judge in California to a $7.3 million wage and hour class action settlement offered by Wyndam Worldwide Operations, Inc. The corporation had been accused of violating wage laws regarding some sales representatives.

At issue in the pending lawsuit was the alleged failure of Wyndam to pay commissioned sales representatives for work that didn’t have a positive sales outcome. The U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller gave his initial approved for this wage and hour class action settlement because the amount is sufficient to cover claims of 2,125 vacation sales employees.

Although Wyndham continues to deny liability when it comes to the accusations at hand, Judge Miller feels that the wage and hour class action settlement is a satisfactory effort at reconciliation. According to Law360, he says that the likelihood of the court giving final approval of the settlement amount is very good.

The initiating plaintiff in this case is a former timeshare saleswoman, Michelle M., who approached the California State Court with her proposal of a class action lawsuit in June 2015.

Michelle M. asserts that the vacation timeshare sales giant was only paying commissions to its sales force, allowing for many hours of necessary work that was uncompensated by the company. In so doing, she claimed, the corporation was failing to pay basic minimum wages. Another accusation was that the company failed to provide breaks for its sales force.

This dispute was moved to federal court at the request of Wyndam, but upon arrival, almost immediately moved to mediation status at the request of the participants. A great deal of effort went into attempting to certify a Class of timeshare sales representatives leading to the decision to mediate.

A little under two years later, another former salesperson filed a similar lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court with similar accusations against Wyndam Worldwide Operations, Inc. Because the allegations were nearly identical, the case was moved to the Central California District of the U.S. District Court.

The wage and hour class action settlement is intended to combine the two cases, one in the Central California District and one in the Southern California District, into one. The groups of people addressed in both cases are also virtually identical.

This Wage and Hour Class Action Settlement is Case No. 3:15-cv-01631, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

UPDATE: October 2017, the California Wyndham wage and hour class action settlement is now open. Click here to learn more!

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