H&R Block Seasonal Tax Professional Class Action Lawsuit Settlement

If you were employed by H&R Block as a Seasonal Tax Professional in an H&R Block owned office in the State of California at any time from June 9, 2006 up through and including May 15, 2011, you may be entitled to benefits from an H&R Block class action settlement.

A $35 million class action settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against H&R Block Enterprises, LLC (“H&R Block Enterprises” or “H&R Block” or “Defendant”) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (styled Lemus, et.al. vs. H&R Block Enterprises, LLC Class Action Case No. CV-09-03179-SI) alleging, among other things, that in each tax season during the Class Period from June 9, 2006 through May 15, 2011, H&R Block failed to pay final hourly wages and end of season additional compensation on a timely basis to Seasonal Tax Professionals in violation of California’s Labor Code, and alllegedly failed to provide Seasonal Tax Professionals with accurate wage statements, according to the H&R Block Seasonal Tax Professional class action settlement notice.

The Court has reportedly certified a class for purposes of the H&R Block settlement (the “Settlement Class”) defined as follows:

All individuals who were employed by H&R Block in California from June 9, 2006 through May 15, 2011 as seasonal, non-exempt Tax Professionals.

The H&R Block wage and hour settlement obligates H&R Block to pay a potential maximum Class Settlement Amount of Thirty Five Million Dollars ($35,000,000). Only those Settlement Class Members who submit an approved Claim Form shall be eligible to recover a settlement share. The Net Settlement Amount (the Class Settlement Amount minus the combined aggregate of the Attorneys’ Fees and Costs approved by the Court, the Incentive Awards approved by the Court, Notice and Administration Costs, the amount to be set aside for late Claims, and the amount paid to the State of California under the Private Attorneys General Act) reportedly will be allocated as follows:

(1) Each class member shall be awarded 10 “tax season points” for each tax season in which he/she was employed as a seasonal tax professional in California between 2007 and May 2011. By example, if a class member was employed in the 2007 and 2009 tax seasons, that individual would be awarded 20 tax season points.

(2) Each class member shall be awarded an additional 20 tax season points for each tax season between 2007 and May 2011 in which he/she received “Additional Compensation” (paid by H&R Block in May each year) as a seasonal tax professional.

(3) Each class members’ share of the Net Settlement Amount shall be calculated by multiplying the Net Settlement Amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is the individual class member’s average adjusted hourly compensation for the 2007 through 2011 tax seasons multiplied by the total of that member’s total tax season points, and the denominator of which is the average adjusted hourly compensation for all class members for the 2007 through 2011 tax seasons multiplied by the total of all tax season points attributed to all class members. The resulting number shall be the amount that each class member is eligible to claim.

The Court will hold a Settlement Approval Hearing on May 10, 2012 at 9:00 a.m., at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, Courtroom No. 10, 19th Floor, San Francisco, California, at which time the Court will determine: (1) whether the settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (2) whether the application of Class Counsel for an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses should be approved and, if so, in what amount; (3) whether the application for incentive payments for the Class Representatives should be approved and, if so, in what amount; and (4) whether a proposed Final Approval Order should be entered and the Litigation dismissed with prejudice.

For more information about the H&R Block Seasonal Tax Professional class action settlement (including settlement class members’ rights, options and deadlines), contact the H&R Block Settlement Administrator at 1-888-836-1703 or visit the Lemus v. H&R Block class action settlement website:

www.HRBlockSettlement.Simpluris.com

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