Garcia v. PPG Industries, Inc.

Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho, along with co-counsel Obermayer, Rebmann, Maxwell & Hippel LLP in Pittsburgh, PA, represent several groups of PPG employees asserting various wage and hour claims against the Company.  First, on behalf of PPG Territory Managers nationwide, the case claims that PPG under-calculated their overtime pay rate by failing to include their bonuses when calculating their “regular rate of pay” (which is then used to calculate the overtime rate).  Second, on behalf of California-based Territory Managers in PPG’s Home Depot business line, the case asserts a claim for reimbursement of certain home internet expenses.  And third, on behalf of PPG employees throughout California, the case asserts a claim for improper wage statements (i.e., a failure to include certain required information) and for the improper requirement that employees receive their wages by direct deposit.  The case also seeks penalties under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) for the foregoing violations of the California Labor Code.

The lawsuit was filed on January 22, 2015, in the federal district court for the Northern District of California.  The operative Complaint setting forth the claims is available here.

On March 10, 2016, the Representative Plaintiffs and PPG entered into a detailed Settlement Agreement, which is available here.  Under the Settlement Agreement, PPG will pay a total of $500,000 to settle the case.  Individual settlement allocations are based on the claims that each class member possesses.

The Court granted Preliminary Approval of the Settlement on March 23, 2016 (available here), and authorized the mailing of the Settlement Notice (the general Notice is available here, and personalized Notices will be mailed to eligible class members).

Eligible class members in California who have not already affirmatively joined the case will be mailed a Settlement Notice and, if the settlement is approved, will automatically receive a Settlement Payment unless they affirmatively exclude themselves from the settlement, as explained in the Notice.

Eligible participants outside of California who have not already affirmatively joined the case will be mailed a Settlement Notice and Claim Form, and will be required to submit the claim form within 60 days (as explained in the Notice) in order to participate and receive a payment.

At least 14 days before the close of the notice period, Class Counsel will post their Motion for Attorneys’ Fees on this page.

After the notice period has ended, the Court will hold a final fairness hearing to decide whether to grant final approval to the Settlement.  The final fairness hearing is currently scheduled for July 20, 2016, at the time and location specified in the Notices, but that date may change.

If you have questions about this case, please feel free to contact William Jhaveri-Weeks or Byron Goldstein at (800) 822-5000.

Case Documents