Bag Check Class Action Settlement to Compensate Tilly’s Employees

A California judge has tentatively approved a bag check class action settlement offering compensation to thousands of Tilly’s employees.

The bag check class action settlement, worked out with the help of a mediator over the course of three months, resolves allegations that clothing retailer Tilly’s subjected employees to mandatory bag inspections on their own time.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Highberger granted preliminary approval of the settlement after a short hearing, during which he acknowledged that the parties had resolved his major concerns about the settlement.

Southern California-based Tilly’s is a retailer of “West Coast-inspired” clothing. Founded over 30 years ago, the chain now operates through over 200 retail locations.

Named plaintiff Karina Whitten initiated this employee class action lawsuit against Tilly’s in June 2014.

Whitten took issue with the retailer’s practice of retaining employees under its control while imposing mandatory inspections on the employees’ personal bags.

The reported bag inspections allegedly interfered with the employees’ break time or took place either before or after their shifts, while they weren’t on the clock.

In the ensuing Tilly’s class action lawsuit, those alleged interferences with employee’s personal time translated to several different claims of employment law violations.

Tilly’s allegedly failed to pay correct wages, failed to offer the required break and meal time, and failed to give employees accurate wage statements, according to Whitten.

Details of the Tilly’s Bag Check Class Action Settlement

The total value of the bag check class action settlement comes to $2.8 million. Settlement payouts will be distributed among approximately 4,000 Tilly’s employees.

Class Members will get in the neighborhood of $3.07 per week for each week worked between June 9, 2010 and the date of the settlement’s preliminary approval.

Judge Highberger had expressed concerns about the parties’ proposal to distribute unclaimed settlement funds to Tilly’s Life Center, a nonprofit organization established by the founder of defendant Tilly’s.

The judge was not keen on allowing the residual funds to be distributed to an organization related to one of the parties.

Revisions in the final version of the bag check class action settlement will instead divert unclaimed funds to Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, which provides advocacy for neglected and abused children.

Judge Highberger was also concerned that the settlement administrator might not reach all affected Class Members.

The judge told the administrator to use a skip tracing service to track down Class Members who were no longer reachable at the mailing address on file with Tilly’s.

The judge also took issue with the proposed $100,000 cost of settlement administration and ordered the parties to solicit more bids for the service.

The revised deal now provides for settlement administration at a cost of $75,000.

A hearing to determine final approval is scheduled for February 2017.

The Tilly’s Bag Check Class Action Lawsuit is Whitten v. Tilly’s Inc., Case No. BC548252, in the California Superior Court for Los Angeles County.

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