Monday, January 12, 2009

California IT Layoffs Continue in 2009 and May be Linked to an Increase in California Overtime Pay Class Action Lawsuits

Current statistics on the California unemployment rate and its possible link to California class action lawsuits in the computer and IT sector, with regards to overtime pay, meals and breaks. Also a forecast of IT layoffs currently planned for 2009 in California.

(PRWEB) January 12, 2009 -- United Employees Law Group, PC, continues to file California overtime pay class action lawsuits against some of the nation's largest computer companies.

United Employees Law Group's attorney Walter Haines suspects a correlation between California layoffs and California class action lawsuits regarding California meals and breaks and the failure to pay California overtime. "With an increase in the California unemployment rate in the computer sector, California IT layoffs are inspiring software employees to become more aware of California labor laws. Many are finding they may be entitled to back California overtime pay. If entitled these employees can go back and collect their overtime pay for up to four years, even if they do not have record of the hours they worked."

United Employees Law Group is currently involved in an individual lawsuit against Ripple Networks. O'Daniel and Jakubiec v. Ripple Networks, Inc. (Case No.BC404828), alleges violation of California labor laws including among other things, failure to provide California meals and breaks and failure to pay overtime.

Other California IT layoffs have been reported to the California Employment Development Department (EDD) from companies like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Boeing and Sun Microsystems. In the most recent reports from EDD, California's unemployment rate is tied for third highest in the nation with South Carolina at 8.4%. California recorded the highest number of initial unemployment claims filed due to mass layoff in November with 47,690.

EDD also shows that, by year end, Sun Microsystems layoffs totaled over 530 contributing to California unemployment. Sun Microsystems has already reported that they will have another mass layoff of 68 in the beginning 2009. These numbers are only a fraction of their global mass layoffs but are still significant enough to account for a significant portion of the California IT layoffs being filed with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) within the last year.

Of these California IT layoffs Boeing reported over 670 California unemployed in their mass layoffs of 2008 and has already alerted EDD of an additional 129 California IT layoffs for the beginning of 2009. Boeing's direct competition Northrop Grumman ended the year with over 250 California IT layoffs even as after it won a large government contract to build a new fleet of military aircraft. (CNN) With numbers like this is it any wonder that the California Labor Board reports the California unemployment rate is almost 2% higher than the national average.

AT&T takes the cake, ending 2008 with over 800 California IT layoffs. AT&T's competitors Verizon and Sprint also lost numerous jobs in 2008. As mentioned previously Ripple Network is currently involved a lawsuit regarding California labor laws including failure to provide meals and breaks and failure to pay California overtime.

If you are a California computer or IT professional and would like to know if you are entitled to California overtime pay, please join your fellow employees in registering your complaint with United Employees Law Group at www.california-labor-laws-attorneys.com or www.california-labor-law-attorney.com

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[Via Legal / Law]

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