By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Jennifer Riley, Nick Baltaxe, Nathan K. Norimoto
Duane Morris Takeaways: In Oman v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., No. 15-CV-00131(N.D. Cal. Sept. 22, 2023), 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169540, Judge William Orrick of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California certified a class of flight attendants based in California on the limited issue of whether Delta Airlines’ wage statements were compliant with Section 226 of the California Labor Code. This decision further highlights the low barriers plaintiffs face in certifying wage statement claims under California law and emphasizes the importance for employers to review wage statements on a regular basis for compliance with the California Labor Code.
Case Background
Following dispositive motion practice and an appeal to the Ninth Circuit, Plaintiffs moved to certify a class of class of California employees who worked as flight attendants for Defendant Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta Airlines or “Delta”). Id. at 1. Plaintiffs attempted to certify a very narrow class regarding compliant wage statements issued to flight attendants who worked from January 10, 2022, to October 7, 2022, and did not participate in Delta’s Enhanced Retirement or Voluntary Opt-Out Programs. Id. at 2. Plaintiffs did so after the Ninth Circuit found that Delta had a good faith defense to the wage statement claim prior to January 10, 2022, and that Delta changed its wage statements in an effort to make them compliant on October 8, 2022. Id. at 1. This motion came after the parties’ negotiations to certify this narrowed class fell apart when Plaintiffs refused to stipulate that Delta’s post-October 21, 2022, wage statements were compliant. Id. at 1.
Delta Airlines opposed Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. Delta’s opposition to Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification did not dispute the Rule 23 requirements of numerosity and commonality. Id. at 2. However, Delta argued that the claims were not “typical.” Id. Delta relatedly argued that Plaintiffs’ request for certification would create “prejudicial” discrepancies between Plaintiffs and putative class members that disqualifies them and their counsel as adequate class representatives under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Id.
In addition, Delta sought relief to file a second motion for summary judgment to secure an “advisory opinion” from the Court that its wage statements issued after October 21, 2022, were fully compliant with the Labor Code. Id.
The District Court’s Decision
The Court granted Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification and held that Plaintiffs satisfied the Rule 23 requirements of typicality, adequacy, predominance, and superiority of a class action. Id. at 2-5.
First, the Court held that Plaintiffs’ alleged wage statement violations were “typical” of the putative class in light of Delta’s “good faith defense” to any wage statement violations that occurred before the proposed class period’s start date and Delta’s admission that it revised wage statements immediately after the class period’s end date. Id. at 2-3. The Court rejected Delta’s argument that Plaintiffs’ proposed class period was shorter than the class alleged in the operative pleading which prevented Plaintiffs’ claim from being typical, because Plaintiffs had provided “adequate justification” for narrowing the class period, especially after the Ninth Circuit’s ruling. Id.
Second, the Court held that Plaintiffs and their counsel were adequate representatives given the “sensible and logical manner” Plaintiffs used to narrow the class definition, i.e., the class period starts immediately after the time period of Delta’s good faith defense and the class period ends when Delta admittedly started making revisions to its wage statements. Id. at 3. The Court dismissed Delta’s accusation of “claim splitting” as Plaintiffs were not “jettisoning categories of damages to make this case more certifiable to the detriment of class members.” Id.
As the final step in certifying the class, the Court determined that predominance and the superiority of resolving Plaintiffs claims on a class-wide basis were satisfied given the amount of class members who were “based in California and performed a majority of their work in California.” Id. at 4-5. Delta’s argument that Plaintiffs’ proposed class did not account for the number of intrastate flights outside of California and the hours worked in non-California airports was rejected by the Court as Delta, which apparently had “that information at its disposal,” did not introduce any evidence to support those defenses with its opposition. Id. The Court overruled Delta’s attempts to invalidate Plaintiff’s proposed class certification notice and instead, found the notice was “short, clear, and written in plain language.”
Finally, the Court denied Delta’s request for leave to file a second motion for summary judgment on the question of whether the wage statements issued after the class period complied with the Labor Code requirements. Id. at 5-6. The Court ordered Plaintiffs to file an amended pleading that conforms to the certified class and, since Delta’s request implicated statements provided after the class period, there was no “case or controversy remaining” on the issue. Id. at 6.
Implications For Employers
California employers already face strict regulations for compliant wage statements. Even if fully compliant, California employers can face a litany of derivative wage statement penalties. Employers can limit liability by arguing good faith defenses and updating their wage statements for compliance, as Delta did. However, this case shows that, even with those arguments and changes, Courts are willing to certify even limited classes. As this litigation shows, an employer’s proactive audits of wage statement compliance can be critical to reducing future wage statement-related liability in California.