1. Why did I get the notice?
2. What is the lawsuit about?
3. What is a FLSA collective action?
4. Why is there a settlement?
5. Who is included in the Settlement?
6. What does the Settlement provide?
7. How do I receive a payment in this Settlement?
8. What am I giving up to get a payment?
9. Do I have a lawyer in this case?
10. What happens if I do nothing at all?
The purpose of the Notice is to let you know that the Parties in the case have reached a Settlement, which the Court has approved, in the FLSA action known as Derrick Salmons v. DoorDash, Inc., No. 3:19-cv-05279-EMC, pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (the “Lawsuit”).
Class Members who receive notice have been identified as an Eligible Claimant who may participate in the Settlement.
Eligible Claimants are defined as follows:
All individuals who (i) have a Dasher account as confirmed by DoorDash; (ii) have completed at least one delivery on the DoorDash platform in the United States at any time between August 23, 2016 and August 31, 2023; (iii) are not bound by an arbitration agreement that covers any claim concerning their Dasher activities or otherwise required to arbitrate their claims concerning their Dasher activities; and (iv) have not already released all FLSA claims or are otherwise barred by the statute of limitations from pursuing the claims asserted in the above-captioned action.
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On August 23, 2019, plaintiff Jacob McGrath filed a complaint in the Northern District of California, bringing claims on behalf of current and former Dashers who completed a delivery any time within the three years prior to the filing of the complaint through the date of the final disposition of the Lawsuit. Thereafter, on August 16, 2023, Plaintiff Derrick Salmons (“Plaintiff”) replaced Mr. McGrath as the named plaintiff in this action.
This Lawsuit claims that DoorDash violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, including by misclassifying Dashers as independent contractors and thereby failing to pay minimum wages.
DoorDash denies that it violated the law in any way, denies Dashers were, or are, employees, and further denies that the Lawsuit is appropriate for any collective or class treatment for any purpose other than this settlement. Nothing in this Notice, the Settlement, or any actions to carry out the terms of the Settlement means that DoorDash admits any fault, guilt, negligence, wrongdoing, or liability whatsoever.
The Honorable Edward M. Chen, United States District Judge, is presiding over this Lawsuit.
The Court did not decide in favor of the Plaintiff or DoorDash in the Lawsuit. Instead, the parties in the Lawsuit agreed to a settlement that the Court determined is a fair, reasonable, and adequate compromise. The parties reached this agreement after lengthy negotiations and independent consideration of the risks of litigation and benefits of settlement through a formal conference with an experienced mediator. Plaintiff and his lawyers have considered the substantial benefits from the Settlement that will be given to the Final Settlement Class Members and balanced those benefits with the risk that a trial could end in a verdict in DoorDash’s favor. They also considered the value of the immediate benefit to Final Settlement Class Members versus the cost and delay of litigation through trial and appeals. Counsel for Plaintiff believe that the amount DoorDash has agreed to pay is fair, adequate, and reasonable in light of the risks and time required to continue litigating this case.
The Court overseeing the case has reviewed and approved the Settlement. The Court approved the Plaintiff to serve as a representative for the Final Settlement Class. The Court also approved the law firms Shellist Lazarz Slobin LLP and Wage and Hour Law Firm to serve as Class Counsel.
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In a FLSA collective action, one or more people, called “Class Representatives” (in this case, Derrick Salmons) sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. Eligible Claimants may participate as Final Settlement Class Members by timely submitting a properly completed Claim Form as described in Section IV of the Notice. In a FLSA collective action, the court resolves the issues for all Final Settlement Class Members together in one legal proceeding. Final Settlement Class Members for purposes of this Settlement is defined in Section II of the Notice.
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The Court did not decide in favor of either party. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement to resolve this Lawsuit. Plaintiff, on one hand, and DoorDash, on the other hand, disagree as to whether there is any liability. This Settlement allows the Final Settlement Class Members and DoorDash to avoid the cost, delay, and uncertainty of moving forward in litigation to trial and possible appeals. The Settlement provides the Final Settlement Class Members the certainty of getting compensation in this Lawsuit. The Plaintiff and his attorneys (“Class Counsel”) believe that the Settlement is fair, reasonable, adequate and in the best interests of the Final Settlement Class Members. The Court has approved this Settlement as fair and reasonable.
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Eligible Claimants are Dashers who (i) have a Dasher account as confirmed by DoorDash; (ii) have completed at least one delivery on the DoorDash platform in the United States at any time between August 23, 2016 and August 31, 2023; (iii) are not bound by an arbitration agreement that covers any claim concerning their Dasher activities or otherwise required to arbitrate their claims concerning their Dasher activities; and (iv) have not already released all FLSA claims or are otherwise barred by the statute of limitations from pursuing the claims asserted in the Lawsuit.
The Final Settlement Class will consist of Eligible Claimants who timely submit a properly completed Claim Form, as described in Section IV of the Notice, as well as Plaintiff Derrick Salmons and three Opt In Plaintiffs (Adrian Davis, Jacob McGrath, and Lisa Benningfield) who each submitted written consents to join the Lawsuit as party plaintiffs.
Under the Settlement, the Final Settlement Class Members will release claims, in accordance with the Settlement Agreement, against the Released Parties. Released Parties includes: (a) Defendant DoorDash, Inc.; (b) the predecessors, successors, present and former affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, insurers, officers, directors, agents, Members, shareholders, unitholders, general partners, limited partners, owners, beneficiaries, representatives, heirs, attorneys, assigns (including without limitation, any investors, trusts, or other similar or affiliated entities) of Defendant DoorDash, Inc.; and (c) all persons acting by, through, under or in concert with, any of the entities identified in subsections (a) and (b) of this paragraph, including any person or entity that was or could have been named as a defendant in the Lawsuit based on the facts alleged in Plaintiff's Third Amended Complaint for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act or prior iterations of the complaint filed in this action. All Final Settlement Class Members shall be bound by the release and the other terms of the Settlement Agreement even if they fail to timely redeem their settlement checks.
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In the Settlement approved by the Court, DoorDash will pay up to a Maximum Gross Settlement Amount of $663,520.00 to settle the Lawsuit and obtain a release of the claims, as discussed in Section V of the Notice.
The settlement amount includes:
To calculate each Final Settlement Class member’s share of the Settlement, the Settlement Administrator reviewed DoorDash’s records from August 23, 2016 through August 31, 2023. DoorDash provided the Settlement Administrator with records showing the Unreleased Miles associated with Plaintiff, each Opt In Plaintiff, and each Eligible Claimant. Unreleased Miles are DoorDash’s best estimate of the total on-delivery miles you drove between the location where you received and accepted an order and the location where you delivered that order (which includes distance spent driving to the merchant and distance spent driving from the merchant to consumer), at any time between August 23, 2016 and August 31, 2023, less any mileage accrued on or before the release end date of any prior individual or class-action settlement(s) that affects your FLSA claims, as determined by DoorDash’s records. Your allocation of the Section 216(b) Settlement Amount was determined by (1) dividing your Unreleased Miles by the total sum of the Unreleased Miles for the Plaintiff, Opt In Plaintiffs, and Eligible Claimants; and (2) multiplying the resulting fraction by the Section 216(b) Settlement Amount.
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In order to participate in the Final Settlement Class and receive a payment in this Settlement, you must complete and submit a Claim Form to the Settlement Administrator.
There are three ways to submit your completed Claim Form to the Settlement Administrator:
The Claim Form must be received by the Settlement Administrator on or before September 6, 2024.
If you do not return a properly completed Claim Form to the Settlement Administrator for receipt by September 6, 2024, you will not participate in the settlement.
If you submit your Claim Form in a timely manner but the document is incomplete or otherwise deficient in one or more respects, the Settlement Administrator will, no later than fourteen (14) days after receipt, return the deficient Claim Form to you with a letter explaining the deficiencies and stating that you have fourteen (14) days to correct the deficiencies and resubmit the Claim Form. If the corrected Claim Form is submitted via U.S. mail, the envelope containing the corrected Claim Form must be postmarked within fourteen (14) days of the date the deficiency notice is mailed to you.
Upon receipt of your settlement check, it will be your responsibility to redeem the check before the expiration date of the checks (90 days after initial mailing). If your check is lost or misplaced, you should contact the Settlement Administrator immediately to request a replacement.
If you want to preserve your right to sue DoorDash on your own about the legal issues in this case and not receive a payment in this Settlement, then you do not need to do anything.
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If you timely submit a properly completed Claim Form in this Settlement, you will become a part of the Final Settlement Class, and you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against DoorDash or any other Released Parties about the legal issues resolved by this Settlement. It also means that all of the Court’s orders in this Lawsuit will apply to you and legally bind you, and anyone purporting to be acting on your behalf. If you are part of the Final Settlement Class, you, individually and on behalf of your successors, assigns, heirs, executors, administrators, agents, representatives, businesses, insurers, subrogees, attorneys, and anyone claiming through you or purporting to act on your behalf, shall hereby irrevocably and unconditionally forever and fully release and covenant not to sue or otherwise pursue against Released Parties any and all claims, demands, and causes of action that were asserted or that could have been asserted in the Action based on the facts alleged in the Plaintiff's Third Amended Complaint, for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act or prior iterations of the complaint filed in this action, including any and all claims, demands, and causes of action for unpaid wages (including but not limited to claims for minimum wage, overtime compensation, or "free and clear" payment of minimum wage and overtime compensation when taking into account unreimbursed expenses), liquidated damages, interest, penalties, attorneys' fees, expenses, costs, and any other relief otherwise available based on the identical factual predicate of this action (including the identical factual predicates of any prior iterations of the complaint) against the Released Parties, up through the date the Court grants approval of the settlement (collectively, the “Released Claims”). For sake of clarity, the Released Claims include state-law minimum wage and overtime claims, but do not include state-law claims for expense reimbursements. This settlement does not release any claims Final Settlement Class members may have under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (Cal. Lab. Code § 2698 et seq.). All Final Settlement Class Members shall be bound by the release and the other terms of the Settlement Agreement even if they fail to timely redeem their settlement checks.
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The Court appointed the following attorneys to represent you and the other Final Settlement Class Members: Ricardo J. Prieto and Melinda Arbuckle of the law firm Wage and Hour Firm and Robert R. Debes of the law firm Shellist Lazarz Slobin LLP.
Together, these lawyers are called “Class Counsel” or “Plaintiff’s Counsel.” You will not be personally charged for these lawyers’ work in securing the settlement benefits for you and the other Final Settlement Class Members; as explained above, the attorneys will be paid out of the Maximum Gross Settlement Amount (25%). If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.
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If you do nothing, you will not be part of the Final Settlement Class and you will not receive a payment under the Settlement. You will also not be bound by the result in the Lawsuit. You will be allowed to bring your own case for the claims alleged in this Lawsuit as described in the Notice.
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