Vox Media has closed the book on three different lawsuits brought by SB Nation content creators claiming the company underpaid them for their work and violated labor laws. Front Office Sports reports that both sides in the cases filed documents in a Washington, DC court on Monday. They are just awaiting a judge’s approval.
The three lawsuits were brought against Vox by a combined 460 former SB Nation site managers and writers. According to Front Office Sports, lawyers will split $1.3 million in legal fees, which will leave $2.5 million to be split amongst the plaintiffs after court costs and administrative costs.
Site managers will receive a payout of between $5000 and $7500. Writers will receive between $2100 and $2500. Checks will be cut based on the amount of time worked and where the plaintiff lives. Writers and site managers based in California and New Jersey will receive more, because Vox’s actions violates state laws in those locations as well.
According to the court filing, Vox denies any wrongdoing or liability in the three cases. The court also did not determine Vox engaged in any wrongdoing.
Vox has had its share of problems during the Covid-19 pandemic. SB Nation is amongst several sites owned by Vox that has experienced furloughs and layoffs in recent months. Company president Ezra Edelman even took to asking listeners of the company’s podcasts to consider donating to the company in April.
