Won't Starbucks Fire Me or Otherwise Retaliate If I Join This?
Starbucks knows that an employer can't retaliate against any employee for exercising his or her legal rights, including such as seeking reimbursement for expenses or even providing evidence as a witness. If they do, they can owe you more money, potentially including emotional distress and even punitive damages.
For this reason, companies like Starbucks generally will wisely avoid not only to avoid retaliating, but to avoid even the appearance of retaliation.
Starbucks can't use other, made-up reasons to hide what it's doing either. Retliation is retaliation, even if they lie and say it was for anothe rreason, and getting you to quit doesn't work either. Making your life miserable so you'll quit even has a name --- “constructive termination.” If it was reasonable for you to believe you were being retaliated against, and you quit, it's a wrongful termination and you can claim lost wages, emotional distress, and even punitive damages,. Because large sophisticated employers like Starbucks are aware of this concept and the significant adverse consequences of illegally terminating employees, big employers rarely, if ever, terminate or retaliate against anyone who has brought a claim or participates in a legal proceeding.
What would I stand to gain by participating?
Pride in asserting your legal rights, for the benefit of yourself and employees generally---but mostly just money. California law clearly entitles you to money if your employer requires you to use your personal mobile phone for business.
Will I owe you money if I sign up?
Not from your pocket. We're working on contingency. We'll take our fee and recover the costs we incur for you only as a share of the money we get you. There is NO scenario where you owe us money in the end. This FAQ is not, however, a substitute for reading and understanding our fee arrangement, which is clearly explained with examples in our simple (four page) fee agreement, before you sign it.
I believe in this. How can I support this effort?
Thanks. Please email, tweet, and otherwise notify everybody you know who used a .edu email address at your school. Let them know you've joined and support this case, and send them to www.emailprivacylit.com. And (of course) "like us on Facebook."
What's your fee?
Our fee will be the greater of 40% of the total recovery or the portion of the judgment or settlement designated as fees (a court may order Google to pay our fees, so you may not even have to pay a contingency fee from your recovery). Our out-of-pocket costs will be charged against your recovery in addition to our fee. Generally, those are small for you because most of them will be shared among a large group of clients. Read our fee agreement carefully, though, to understand exactly how it works. This FAQ is not a substitute for reading our fee agreement and does not replace or override it. But, again, there is NO scenario where you wind up owing us money.
Why would I sign up for this?
There are good reasons to sign up: (1) You can be part of an important case to make Starbucks to follow the law just like you have to, pay employees properly, and put other employers on notice that people do care. (2) You're paying us nothing except a contingent fee from your recovery, we are confident you'll win if you meet the requirements, and it's your money so why not?
Am I free to end my association with this lawsuit at any time?
You can fire us at any time, for any reason or none. But you will have a lawsuit on file. Realistically, you can always settle it, but you'll get little or nothing if you are desperate to get out. Don't sign up with us or file a lawsuit unless you are committed to spending a little time and a little energy, and have done enough homework to realize we're a great firm that you can be proud to be associated with.
Is this a class action lawsuit?
There is a class action lawsuit pending for people who qualify. This will be a "mass action" lawsuit. That means we individually represent you and can get you an individual settlement. Class actions generally get worse outcomes for clients but are very useful in cases involving largely identical small claims. Here, we're using technology (this website, powered by Leverage) as a technological alternative to class certification. This approach allows us to effectively manage thousands of clients with largely identical cases.
If Starbucks or its attorneys ask me to sign a statement, do I have to?
No. No one, especially your employer or its attorneys, can force you to sign a statement. Employers in cases like this one frequently request signed statements from their current employees to avoid paying these claims. Their interests (in not paying) are usually antagonistic to yours (in getting paid). Anything you say to will be used to minimizing paying employees like you---that's their objective. So, if you sign anything, make sure that you first (1) understand what the purpose of the statement is, (2) understand everything that is written, and (3) make sure everything is the truth. And, of course, it's best if you just reach out to us for some free legal advice if you're asked to sign anything.
