Shanon J. Carson is a shareholder of Berger & Montague, P.C. and chair of the firm’s Employment Department, which prosecutes class actions, collective actions and multiple plaintiff litigation on behalf of employees alleging violations of their rights:

    -under federal and state civil rights laws which prohibit employment discrimination;

    -under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”) and related state fair wage laws for unpaid wages and overtime compensation;

    -under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the “WARN Act”) on behalf of employees who have lost their jobs pursuant to a mass layoff or plant closing; and

    -under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), which sets minimum standards for most 401k, pension and health plans in private industry to provide protection for employees in these plans.

Mr. Carson has served as lead or co-lead counsel in a large number of class actions in federal and state courts across the country, including:

Employees Committed for Justice v. Eastman Kodak Company, No. 6:04-cv-06098 (W.D.N.Y.).  Co-Lead Counsel.  Mr. Carson obtained a settlement of $21.4 million on behalf of a nationwide class of African American employees of Kodak alleging a pattern and practice of racial discrimination (pending final approval).  A significant opinion issued in the case is Employees Committed For Justice v. Eastman Kodak Co., 407 F.Supp.2d 423 (W.D.N.Y. 2005) (denying Kodak’s motion to dismiss).

Salcido v. Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., Civil Action Nos. 1:07-cv-01347-LJO-GSA and 1:08-cv-00605-LJO-GSA (E.D. Cal.).  Co-Lead Counsel.  Mr. Carson obtained a settlement of $7.5 million on behalf of a class of thousands of employees of Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. alleging that they were forced to work off-the-clock and during their meal and rest breaks.  This is one of the largest settlements of this type of case involving a single plant in U.S. history.

Miller v. Hygrade Food Products, Inc., No. 99-1087 (E.D. Pa.).  Lead Counsel.  Mr. Carson obtained a settlement of $3.5 million on behalf of a group of African American employees of Sara Lee Foods Corp. to resolve charges of racial discrimination and retaliation at its Ball Park Franks plant in Philadelphia, PA.

Chabrier v. Wilmington Finance, Inc., No. 06-4176 (E.D. Pa.).  Co-Lead Counsel.  Mr. Carson obtained a settlement of $2,925,000 on behalf of retail loan officers who worked in four offices of Wilmington Finance, Inc. to resolve claims for unpaid overtime wages and related penalties.  A significant opinion issued in the case is Chabrier v. Wilmington Finance, Inc., 2008 WL 938872 (E.D. Pa. April 04, 2008) (denying the defendant’s motion to decertify the class).

Bonnette v. Rochester Gas & Electric Co., No. 07-6635 (W.D.N.Y.).  Co-Lead Counsel.  Mr. Carson obtained a settlement of $2 million on behalf of a class of African American employees of Rochester Gas & Electric Co. to resolve charges of racial discrimination in hiring, job assignments, compensation, promotions, discipline, terminations, retaliation, and a hostile work environment.

Confidential.  Lead Counsel.  Mr. Carson obtained a settlement of $6 million on behalf of a group of African American employees of a Fortune 100 company to resolve claims of racial discrimination, as well as injunctive relief which included significant changes to the Company's employment practices (settled out of court while Charges of Discrimination were pending with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).

Drayton v. Pilgrim's Pride Corp., No. 03-2334 (E.D. Pa.).  Mr. Carson served as counsel in a consolidation of wrongful death and other catastrophic injury cases brought against two manufacturers of turkey products, arising out of a 2002 outbreak of Listeria Monocytogenes in the Northeastern United States, which resulted in the recall of over 32 million pounds of turkey – the second largest meat recall in U.S. history.  A significant opinion issued in the case is Drayton v. Pilgrim's Pride Corp., 472 F.Supp.2d 638 (E.D. Pa. 2006) (denying the defendants’ motions for summary judgment and applying the alternative liability doctrine).  All of the cases settled on confidential terms in 2006.

Aldridge v. A.T. Cross Corp., Civil Action 00203 ML (D.R.I.).  Mr. Carson represented a class of investors in a securities fraud class action against the A.T. Cross Company, and won a significant victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit when that Court reversed the dismissal of the Complaint and lessened the pleading standard for such cases in the First Circuit, holding that it would not require Plaintiffs in a shareholder suit to submit proof of financial restatement in order to prove revenue inflation.  See Aldridge v. A.T. Cross Corp., 284 F.3d 72 (1st Cir. 2002).  The case ultimately settled for $1.5 million.

Mr. Carson currently serves as lead or co-lead counsel in many class action and collective action lawsuits pending in federal and state courts across the United States on behalf of thousands of individuals, including cases seeking unpaid wages and overtime compensation on behalf of employees in different jobs around the country, including at meat and poultry plants, at call centers, at fast food restaurants, in white collar jobs, and in the government. 

For example, Mr. Carson is currently serving as co-lead counsel in Jantz v. Social Security Administration, EEOC Case No.: 531-2006-00276X.  On October 8, 2008, the EEOC certified a nationwide class of over a thousand employees of the Social Security Administration who have severe disabilities and who have alleged discrimination with respect to promotions for which they were deemed to be qualified.  In the area of wage and hour law, Mr. Carson is recently responsible for a string of decisions in the federal courts certifying classes of low wage, mostly Spanish-speaking workers in the meat and poultry packing industries alleging that they have been forced to work off the clock and during meal and rest breaks.  See, e.g., Salcido v. Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., Civil Action Nos. 1:07-cv-01347-LJO-GSA and 1:08-cv-00605-LJO-GSA (E.D. Cal. May 29, 2009) (granting final approval of settlement class in $7.5 million settlement); Cortez v. Nebraska Beef, Inc., Civil Action Nos. 8:08-cv-00090 and 8:08-cv-00099 (D. Neb. Nov. 21, 2008) (certifying class).

Mr. Carson also serves as counsel to The Multihull Company, Inc., an international distributor of fine yachts and catamarans.

In 2008, Mr. Carson was named as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer - Rising Star.  The designation of ARising Star@ is an honor conferred upon only the top 2.5% of attorneys in Pennsylvania who are 40 or younger.

In 2009, Mr. Carson was selected by The Legal Intelligencer and the Pennsylvania Law Weekly as one of the top 30 lawyers in Pennsylvania under the age of 40, and as a “future leader of the state's legal community.”  Mr. Carson received the “Lawyers on the Fast Track” award as selected by a panel of judges.

Mr. Carson is also active in various non-profit and professional organizations and is available for speaking engagements concerning class and collective actions, employment law, and other legal issues.

Mr. Carson is a graduate of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University.  While in law school, Mr. Carson was Senior Editor of the Dickinson Law Review, and also served as a law clerk for the Honorable William W. Caldwell, Senior Judge, United States District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Carson is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a number of federal courts around the country.