Frequently Asked Questions
BACKGROUND OF THE CASE CASE
You received the Notice because the San Francisco County Superior Court has granted preliminary approval to a class action settlement for settlement purposes only, and Defendant’s records indicate that you may be a member of the settlement Class. As such, you may be eligible for compensation from this Settlement.
As a Class Member, your interests are being represented at no expense to you by Zachary Crosner, Jamie Serb, and Chad Saunders of Crosner Legal, P.C. (“Class Counsel”). You may also hire your own lawyer at your own expense.
On November 10, 2021, Plaintiff filed a complaint in San Francisco County Superior Court (“the Court”) on behalf of all current and former non-exempt employees employed by Defendant in the State of California (referred to as “Class Members”). The complaint made claims for: (1) failure to pay minimum wages, (2) failure to pay overtime wages, (3) failure to provide off-duty meal periods, (4) failure to authorize and permit rest breaks, (5) failure to provide accurate wage statements, (6) waiting time penalties, (7) failure to reimburse business expenses, and (8) unfair competition unfair business practices. On November 19, 2021, Plaintiff filed the First Amended Complaint, which added a claim for civil penalties under PAGA.
The Parties thoroughly investigated the case. Plaintiff and Defendant were then able to agree on a Settlement of the case.
Class Counsel believe the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the Class. Defendant expressly and specifically denies any liability or wrongdoing of any kind associated with the claims alleged in the Litigation. Defendant settled the Litigation in order to avoid costly, disruptive, and time-consuming litigation.
On April 12, 2023, the Court gave preliminary approval to the Settlement and conditionally certified the Settlement Class for Settlement purposes only. The Court was not asked to make and did not make any ruling as to whether any violations by Defendant had occurred.
SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT
Defendant has agreed to pay $1,015,000.00 to settle the Litigation (“Gross Settlement Amount”). The Gross Settlement Amount includes attorneys’ fees and costs, costs of Settlement Administration, PAGA penalties, and the Class Representative’s Enhancement Payment.
The “Net Settlement Amount” is the remainder of the Gross Settlement Amount after the deductions have been made for the following items: (1) up to $338,333.33 (one-third of the Gross Settlement Amount) for Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees; (2) Class Counsel’s actual litigation costs, not to exceed $30,000; (3) the costs of settlement administration, not to exceed $20,000; (4) $50,000 for the PAGA penalties; (5) up to $10,000 to Plaintiff for serving as a Class Representative; and (6) $10,000 to Plaintiff in exchange for agreeing to a general release of her individual claims.
Included in the Settlement are all non-exempt employees employed by Defendant in California from November 10, 2017, through January 1, 2023.
p style=”text-align: justify;”>Any Class Member who does not submit a written request to be excluded from the Settlement will have his or her “Settlement Payment” calculated as follows:
All Participating Class Members: Each Participating Class Member will receive a proportionate share of the Net Settlement Amount (“NSA”) that is equal to (i) the number of weeks he or she worked for Defendant during the Class Period in California based on the Class Data provided by Defendant, divided by (ii) the total number of weeks worked by all Participating Class Members during the Class Period based on the same Class data, which is then multiplied by the NSF.
PAGA Penalties Subclass: This Settlement covers claims brought under the California Labor Code’s Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (Cal. Labor Code §§ 2698 et seq.) (“PAGA”). “PAGA Members” are all non-exempt employees of Defendant who were employed in California from September 15, 2020, through January 1, 2023 (“PAGA Members” or “PAGA Subclass”). The Settlement designates a total of $50,000.00 as penalties under the PAGA. From this amount, $12,500 (25%) will be allocated to the PAGA Members. The remainder of the PAGA penalties ($37,500) will be paid to the LWDA, as required by law. Each PAGA Member will receive a proportionate share of the PAGA Payment which equals (i) the number of weeks he or she worked for Defendant during the PAGA Period in California based on the Class Data provided by Defendant, divided by (ii) the total number of weeks worked by all PAGA Members during the PAGA Period based on the same Class data, which is then multiplied by $12,500.
Tax Treatment of Settlement Payments: One third (33.3%) of each Settlement Payment will be designated as wages, which shall be reduced by your lawful deductions and withholdings. You will also receive a W-2 form for the wages portion. Two thirds (66.7%) of each Settlement Payment will be allocated to penalties and interest for which you will receive a 1099 form.
If you do not opt-out of the Settlement, then you will receive a check for your Settlement Payments. Your check will be void if you do not cash or deposit your check within 180 days following the issuance of the check. Whether or not you cash or deposit your check, you will be bound by the Settlement and will be deemed to have waived irrevocably any right or claim to your Settlement share and/or to appeal the approval of the Settlement. After the expiration of 180 days, the sum of any uncashed/undeposited checks shall be deposited with the California Unclaimed Property division.
Your Settlement payment is defined in the mailed Notice you received.
Upon the Final Approval of the Settlement by the Court, Plaintiff and all members of the Settlement Class who do not submit timely requests for exclusion (described below) will release Kyo Autism Therapy, LLC, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliated entities, past or present officers, directors, employees, agents, principals, heirs, representatives, accountants, auditors, attorneys, consultants, insurers and reinsurers, and their respective successors and predecessors in interest, subsidiaries, and affiliated entities (“Released Parties”) for any and all claims arising during the Class Period for: (i) failure to pay minimum wage in violation of Labor Code sections 1194, 1197, and 1197.1; (ii) failure to pay overtime in violation of Labor Code sections 510, 1194, and 1198; (iii) failure to provide meal periods and pay meal period premiums in violation of Labor Code sections 226.7 and 512; (iv) failure to provide rest breaks and pay rest break premiums, including nonpayment and underpayment, in violation of Labor Code section 226.7; (v) failure to timely pay final wages in violation of Labor Code sections 201, 202, and 203; (vi) failure to provide accurate wage statements in violation of Labor Code section 226; (vii) failure to reimburse business expenses in violation of Labor Code sections 2800 and 2802; (vii) violation of Business and Professions Code section 17200, et seq.; (ix) violation of the Private Attorney General Act, Labor Code section 2699, et seq. on the basis of violation of the foregoing Labor Code claims as well as any claims related to unlawful background checks under Labor Code 1024.5 and 432.7, and any violations of California’s sick leave requirements found in Labor Code Sections 245 through 248.5; and (x) any other wage and hour claims, or claims for violations of the Labor Code and or the Fair Labor Standards Act, that were asserted or could have been asserted based on the factual or legal allegations contained in the First Amended Complaint, and that arose any time during the Class Period with respect to claims against the Released Parties. The Class Members shall release the Released Parties for all such claims through January 1, 2023.
Only those Class Members who were employed during the PAGA Period, will release their claims for PAGA penalties.
These claims are referred to in the Notice as the “Released Claims.” For more information regarding the scope of the release, please read the Settlement Agreement HERE.
LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS OF CLASS MEMBERS
You do not need to do anything in order to receive a Settlement Payment. If you do nothing, you will automatically be included in the Settlement and will receive a Settlement Payment so long as the Settlement is approved and becomes Final. As set forth above, your Settlement Payment will be based upon whether you worked during the Class Period and, if so, the number of workweeks you worked during the Class Period.
Please keep your address current! To assist the Court and the parties in maintaining accurate lists of Class Members, please mail notice of any change in your address to the Settlement Administrator (address here), or call 1-888-233-2228. Please say that you are a part of the Gotishan v. Kyo Autism Therapy Settlement Class.