The fact that this settlement was rejected by the judge should be an embarrassment for the plaintiffs' lawyers, and IMO is a great example of the problems with the incentives in class action settlements. Basically, the judge is saying there is substantial evidence that the plaintiffs would win considerably more if the case went to trial. From the lawyers' perspective though, if they settle they get a sure thing, and, importantly, they don't have to do any more work.

So in other words, if this settlement had been approved, the employees would have gotten a raw deal, while their attorneys would have gotten tens of millions for poor work on a pretty clear cut case.