LOS ANGELES — After nearly a decade of litigation, which included a jury trial, a bench trial, and several appeals, a federal district court approved the settlement of a fair labor standards class action between former employees of Chinese Daily News, Inc. and their former employer, which is the largest Chinese-language newspaper in the United States. The plaintiffs agreed to a 7.8 million dollar payment, which, on final approval of the settlement, will end a case first brought in March 2004 for unpaid overtime and denial of meal breaks and itemized pay stubs.
The Long Road to the Supreme Court
Initially, a jury awarded the plaintiffs 7.7 million dollars. On appeal, it was upheld by a federal appeals court. However, in 2010, the United States Supreme Court vacated the jury award and remanded the case back to the appeals court to decide the issue of whether the class was properly certified. In 2013, the federal appeals court that initially upheld the jury award partially reversed certification of the class in light of the Supreme Court’s decision. A year later, the district court judge recertified the class because he found that it met the commonality and predominance issued for certification raised by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Reporters Not Exempt as “Creative Professionals”
The reporters in this case claimed, among other things, that they were improperly denied overtime because they were misclassified as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Apparently, the newspaper contended that its reporters were exempt “creative professionals” under FLSA, which is an exemption that would apply to an employee whose primary duty must be performance of work requiring invention, imagination, originality, or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor. For journalists, they may fall within this exemption if their primary duties involve conducting investigative interviews, analyzing or interpreting public events, analyzing editorials, opinion columns or other commentary, or acting as a narrator or commentator. However, reporters who only collect, organize, and record routine or public information, or perform no interpretation or analysis of the news, would not be exempt.
The Chinese Daily News argued here that the reporters were exempt because their articles lacked the “sophistication” of national-level newspapers. However, the federal appeals court concluded that the Chinese Daily News was more like small community newspapers, and the reporters’ articles involved standard recounts of public information created by gathering facts on routine community events.
If you or someone you know is misclassified as an exempt employee and has a claim for unpaid overtime wages, you should call (855) 754-2795 or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form on the top right of this page. Our top rated team of wage lawyers will evaluate your situation to determine your best course of action. We will also determine if it is in your best interest to file a lawsuit against your employer. There are strict time limitations for filing so it is important that you call our experienced attorneys today.