Each year the number of wage and hour lawsuits grows. According to the latest statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, there were approximately 8,781 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) cases filed in 2015 — a 7.6-percent increase over 2014. Since 2000, the number of wage and hour filings in federal court has increased by more than 450 percent.
Employers also paid approximately $400 million in 2014 alone to settle wage and hour lawsuits, with an average payment of $5.3 million per employer, according to the consulting firm NERCA Economic Consulting. Employers have paid over $3.6 billion since 2007 to settle wage and hour lawsuits.