In the case of Roberto Garcia v. DST OUTPUT WEST, LLC, Case No. PC 20070588 filed in El Dorado Superior Court, the Plaintiff alleged that he worked as a Unix Systems Assistant Administrator at DST's El Dorado facilities. He alleged that he was not paid proper overtime, was not provided proper pay check stubs, was not provided proper meal and rest breaks, and that DST engaged in unfair competition. A copy of the complaint can be found here.

Of course, DST took their usual stance that the case was without merit, that they would easily win, etc.. However, when the case came up for trial, it mysteriously disappeared just days before trial was set to start. While my firm was not involved in this case, and I only have access to what is in the public record, in my experience, when a case disappears just before trial, it is because someone has paid a lot of money to make it happen. By the time a case comes up for trial, both parties have spent significant time and money on the case. If the case really was the "slam dunk" that DST made it out to be, all they had to do was convince the judge or jury of that fact and send a message to all employees that DST follows the law and was vindicated in court. However, DST sent no such message. Instead, the message, as I read it, is that DST knows they violate the law. They will stonewall all claims up until the very last minute and then secretly resolve the issue in a confidential settlement.

From the Garcia case, it is apparent that DST Output is afraid of actually having an overtime case decided in court. Fortunately, the class action mechanism allows an excellent procedure to defeat this type abusive litigation strategy employed by DST. In a class action, the named plaintiffs litigate the case on behalf of all the employees covered by the class. In addition, any class action settlement is a matter of public record and must be approved by the court.