MetLife Employment Discrimination Class Action Settlement

Qualifying MetLife Financial Services Representatives may now claim benefits under the terms of an employment discrimination class action settlement.

Named plaintiff Marcus Creighton accused defendant Metropolitan Life of discriminating against its African-American Financial Services Representatives, both in their compensation and in day-to-day operational decisions such as teaming and account transfers.

Creighton initiated this MetLife class action lawsuit in February 2015 with a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He escalated his complaint to an employment discrimination class action lawsuit in May of that year.

He was later joined by plaintiffs Constance Green, Don Roman, Danielle Sydnor, Darryl Fyall, Charles Swindell and Vernon Hobbs.

MetLife continues to deny the plaintiffs’ allegations. The settlement does not require MetLife to admit any fault, and the court has made no determination of liability.

Under the terms of the MetLife class action settlement, MetLife has agreed to create a settlement fund totaling $32.5 million. This amount will cover payments to Class Members, service awards to the class representatives, attorney fees and court costs, taxes, and the costs of settlement administration.

Qualifying Class Members may claim either an expedited monetary award or an individualized award.

Expedited awards will be paid by check within 45 days of the claim submission deadline. It will be determined based on objective factors such as MetLife length of service, length of employment during the class period, and lateral status.

Individualized awards will be based on an individualized assessment of the Class Member’ own race discrimination claims. Class Members choosing this option will need to submit more information about their own claims and qualifying employment which will be used by a neutral third-party administrator to determine the amount of the individualized award.

All settlement awards are final, binding, and not subject to appeal.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members eligible to make a claim under the MetLife class action settlement include all African-American Financial Services Representatives employed by or affiliated with MetLife or NELICO between May 15, 2011 and July 1, 2016.

Potential Award

Varies.

Each Class Member’s award will be determined based on information specific to that Class Member’s experience with MetLife. Class Members may choose to receive either an expedited award based on readily-available and objective information about their MetLife employment, or an individualized award that accounts for additional evidence the Class Member submits.

The process for claiming an individualized assessment is more involved. It can possibly result in a smaller award than what the Class Member would have received had they chosen the expedited award instead.

Proof of Purchase

With their Claim Form, Class Members must also submit IRS Forms W-4 and W-9.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

Class Members may submit either a Simple Claim Form to claim an expedited monetary award, or a Detailed Claim Form to claim an award based on an individualized assessment.

Claim Form Deadline

8/28/2017

Claims must be received by the settlement administrator by the deadline date. Class Members should submit their claims in advance of the deadline to make sure they are timely received.

Case Name

Marcus Creighton, et al. v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Case No. 1:15-cv-08321, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Final Hearing

6/27/2017

Settlement Website

www.CreightonSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Creighton v. MetLife Settlement Claims Administrator
P.O. Box 43480
Providence, RI 02940-3480
1-866-680-6128
CreightonSettlement@kccllc.com

Class Counsel

Linda D. Friedman
Suzanne E. Bish
George S. Robot
STOWELL & FRIEDMAN LTD.

Defense Counsel

Steven J. Pearlman
Keisha-Ann G. Gray
Latoya S. Moore
PROSKAUER ROSE LLP