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More than 20,000 retired Oregon public employees would be protected from having to reimburse the state pension fund for past "overpayments" into their pension accounts, under a class-action lawsuit. The suit challenges a recent decision by the Public Employees Retirement System Board to recoup the money from the retirees by making reductions in their monthly checks.

The $88.8 million verdict has been upheld in any class action filed against farmers insurance exchange on behalf of current and former claims representatives, who allege that the insurer violated California labor law when it failed to pay them overtime pay from October 1, 1993, to the present. Persons eligible to take part in the action should contact the attorneys for the class. No money will be distributed until all possible appeals are exhausted.

A statewide collective/class action has been filed in Illinois against the TJX Companies, who operate Marshalls, the discount clothing giant. The action is brought on behalf of all Illinois residents who have been employed by Marshalls in the period since February 2001 as hourly employees. The action is brought under both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Illinois wage and labor laws and seeks back pay, compensatory, statutory, liquidated and punitive damages as well as injunctive and declaratory relief. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, all those who wish to join the collective action must voluntarily "opt-in" in order to be considered a member of the class. The employees have requested that the court issue notice to all potential claimants.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has settled a class action lawsuit filed in 1998 by current and former DNR employees. The state must pay $3 million to members of the class for retroactive wages dating back to July 1, 1996. The settlement also calls for a $400,000 aggregate salary adjustment for members of the class starting April 9, 2006.

Two Watsonville, California residents are accusing La Esperanza Markets of failing to pay dozens of former and current employees hundreds of hours in overtime. Guillermo Mendez and Jose Contreras Moreno and their attorneys filed a class action lawsuit in Santa Cruz County Superior Court. They're also alleging that the owners of the chain of stores, Javier and Emilia Vazquez, rarely granted workers their 10-minute and 30-minute lunch breaks, a requirement under California law.

Southern California Superior Court Judge David Velasquez granted class action certification to a lawsuit filed by three former Verizon telephone directory advertising sales representatives claiming the company unlawfully deducted corporate business losses from their wages between 2000 and 2005.

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