The volume of wage and hour litigation continues to increase exponentially, and plaintiffs’ lawyers have continued to “push the envelope” in crafting damage theories to expand class action lawsuits and the scope of recoveries, says the national law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Seyfarth Shaw recently issued its fourth Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report, analyzing the leading 2007 decisions involving claims against employers.

According to the firm, collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act produced more rulings in 2007 than did class actions for employment discrimination, or under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The report also finds that plaintiffs’ lawyers have resorted to state court forums on a more frequent basis to pursue employment-related class action litigation.