On November 15, 2001, Plaintiffs filed a class action complaint against Johnson & Johnson alleging a companywide pattern of racial and national origin discrimination in promotions and compensation. Plaintiffs filed the lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a class of all African American and Hispanic salaried employees employed in the U.S. in any of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies. Since filing the initial complaint, we have pressed forward in what has become one of the longest and hardest fought class-action race discrimination cases in recent history.
After extensive investigation and discovery, Plaintiffs filed a motion asking the Court to certify the case as a class action. The Company vigorously opposed that motion. The Court held a hearing on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification on December 5, 2006. On December 20, 2006, the Court issued a decision denying the motion.
Plaintiffs then filed a request with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, asking it to review the District Court’s decision denying class certification. However, on April 22, 2008, the Third Circuit denied Plaintiffs’ petition and the District Court’s decision stands. Nevertheless, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals noted that:
" plaintiffs ... are not without recourse. Those plaintiffs may request that the district court alter or amend its order on class certification; this request may be made at any time prior to the entry of final judgment.... ("Indeed... a district court is free to reconsider its class certification ruling as often as necessary before judgment.").... Additionally, plaintiffs may appeal the denial of class certification once a final judgment has been entered." ( citations omitted).
Neither the District Court nor the Court of Appeals has yet addressed the merits of this case (that is, whether Johnson & Johnson’s conduct was discriminatory, and therefore, unlawful). The District Court simply determined that the case could not go forward on behalf of the class as originally defined. The rulings of the District Court and Third Circuit Court of Appeals did not make a determination of whether any African American or Hispanic current or former Johnson & Johnson employee could proceed with his or her own individual case.
Plaintiffs are moving forward to prosecute the claims of the individual named plaintiffs and they are reviewing the evidence and considering asking the Court to alter or amend its order on class certification.
IMPORTANT: If you are an African American or Hispanic current or former salaried employee in the U.S. in any of the of Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies at any time from November 15, 1997 to the present, we urge you to contact us as soon as possible so that we can help you evaluate your options at this point. The law limits the amount of time you have to file a discrimination lawsuit in court. Because the time that you have to file an individual discrimination lawsuit is very limited, please contact us before July 1, 2008, with any questions.
You may contact us at our toll-free number 866-464-9097.
