It seems that plaintiffs (and their lawyers) think that all they have to do to get conditional certification is throw up a flimsy Affidavit from the named plaintiff and the Court will hand them conditional certification, like it is giving out candy. Fortunately, in the District of New Jersey that is not the case, as
collective action
Judge Signals Change on Certification Decision and Then Case Quickly Settles
It is fairly easy for a plaintiff to get conditional certification in a FLSA class action case, but that is not the end of the story. The next step, much harder, is fending off the defendant’s anticipated motion to stop the class from receiving final certification. It is even more difficult to withstand that defendant’s…
Joint Employer Angle Gives Interesting Twist to FLSA Truck Driver Collective Action
By Mark Tabakman on
The whole trick for a plaintiff (and his lawyers) in a FLSA collective action case is to try to get conditional certification. Once that happens, the stakes automatically escalate for the defendant-employer, often leaving settlement as the most viable and cheapest manner of resolving the case. This process becomes more complicated when there is, as…
Another Automatic Lunch Deduction FLSA Collective Action: How Many Times Does It Have to Happen?
By Mark Tabakman on
I have blogged numerous times about these automatic lunch deduction cases and have suggested remedies. Yet, these cases proliferate. Another very recent example is that of a hospital that has agreed to pay more than $4,000,000 to settle a FLSA collective action where the workers allege that their employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act…
Employers Must Be Aware of “Sneaky” Working Time FLSA Collective Action Cases
By Mark Tabakman on
I continue to blog about working time cases because these are the kind of lawsuits that can sneak up on an employer who does not realize that a certain pre-shift activity may in fact constitute working time under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This is again illustrated by a trucking company case where the Company…
Court Refuses To Award Liquidated Damages in FLSA Collective Action Even After Finding Employer Did Not Pay Proper Overtime
By Mark Tabakman on
What scares me the most about a USDOL audit or a FLSA lawsuit is the threat of liquidated damages. These damages, which double the wages due, are imposed almost routinely in court cases and are being imposed more and more by the administrative agency. Well, sometimes the pendulum swings the other way, as illustrated by…
Employee Status Will Not Be Determined by Judge in Conditional Certification Stage in FLSA Collective Action
By Mark Tabakman on
There is no industry that is immune to wage hour or FLSA actions, including amateur sports leagues. In an interesting case, a federal Judge has granted conditional class certification to a class of members of an amateur football league who worked as referees and who were, they claim, compelled to perform the work of refereeing…
Settling With (Only) the Named Plaintiff in Collective Actions: The Way To Go!
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Class Actions, Overtime Issues
I often preach that, when dealing with a class action, the employer should try to pick off the named plaintiff, perhaps overpaying to do so (or maybe not). In this interesting case, the parties settled (i.e. with the named plaintiff) right after the class had been decertified. The plaintiff had argued that he was misclassified…
Third Circuit Rules on Two Class Actions in Same Decision and Opines on Doctrine of Pendant Jurisdiction
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Class Actions
In a very interesting and off-beat decision, the Third Circuit has thrown out one class of loan officers who alleged misclassification but let stand the lower court’s decision that certified the case as a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The case is entitled Reinig et al. v. RBS Citizens NA, and…
Another Retail Industry FLSA Collective Action On Misclassification Settles: What Employers Should Do To Be Proactive
By Mark Tabakman on
The retail industry is notoriously prone to FLSA collective action misclassification lawsuits because there are many levels of management, especially so-called lower management, where the employees may/may not discharge actual/true supervisory powers. Another illustration of this principle has resulted in a large dollar settlement that will pay employees known as “sales team managers” a fairly…