The Role of Class Action Lawsuits in Employment Disputes

Introduction

Class actions are an important avenue in resolving employment law disputes. When they are run properly, they can allow individuals, whose claims may not be economical individually, to join together to greatly minimise the costs and increase the resources to spend on the claim. This article will focus on the importance of class actions and how they can be utilised to solve employment law disputes.

 

Understanding Employment Class Action Lawsuits

Employment law class actions are mostly governed under Part IVA of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) (Act). Individuals are not required to obtain the consent of the entire class of people who they are commencing the class action on behalf of, however, a class action requires a minimum of seven group members otherwise it risks being dismissed by the court under section 33L of the Act. Other requirements for class actions include:

• the causes of action must be against the same defendant;
• they must have similar circumstances; and
• they must highlight an issue of law or fact.

 

The Role of Class Action Lawyers in Employment Disputes

Class action lawyers play an important role in advocating for the class of people. Generally, class actions arise from an individual known as the ‘litigation funder’ who brings the issue to attention. The litigation funder, otherwise known as the applicant, is responsible for the costs of the proceedings and related legal fees. Once the issue has arisen, class action lawyers play a role in fact-finding by helping to identify other individuals who may be in the class of people. If there is enough evidence, the class action lawyers will then move to file legal documents with the court and commence proceedings against the defendant/s.

There are also options for a third-party litigation funder to be responsible for the costs of the proceedings, regardless of them not being a party to the proceedings.

 

Types of Employment Disputes Suited for Class Action Lawsuits

Types of employment disputes suited for class action lawsuits include:

• wage theft;
• workplace discrimination;
• workplace harassment; and
• breaches of employment terms.

The main benefit of addressing these issues through a class action include an increased access to legal assistance and other resources. Additionally, the costs are greatly reduced and the stress of litigation is less burdensome as it is split between the class of people.

 

Challenges and Legal Considerations in Employment Class Actions

Class actions usually involve a large number of individuals and as a result often take longer to progress. Additionally, in some circumstances it is more commercially beneficial to pursue legal proceedings individually. A key example can be seen through the class action against Nurofen in 2017 where the class of people could include any person who purchased specific Nurofen products from 2011 and 2015. With a relatively large range of eligibility, the class of people only received a small one-off payment. Lastly, operating as a collective means that individuals have less control over the proceedings. Accordingly, it is important to have experienced legal representation, such as the lawyers at Chamberlains Law Firm, to mitigate these challenges and legal considerations.

 

The Impact of Employment Class Actions on Workplace Practices

Pursing class actions with respect to employment disputes can have direct benefits with respect to the changing of company policies and broader implications for employee rights and workplace standards.

 

How Can We Help?

If you have an employment dispute that you think could benefit from proceeding as a class action, please reach out to Chamberlains Law Firm’s Class Action Lawyers to discuss the possibility of commencing such an action.

 

*This article was prepared with the assistance of Grace Tully