I have defended many off-the-clock working time cases and I submit that they are very dangerous for employers. This is because they are particularly amenable to class certification because it is likely that there is a common policy applicable to the members of the class. This premise is highlighted by a recent settlement for a
collective action
One Toke Over the Line: Employer of Marijuana Workers Seeking FLSA Overtime Defends By Asserting Its Business Is Illegal
By Mark Tabakman on
It is not often when an employer defends a FLSA lawsuit by asserting that it is in an illegal business and therefore immune to suit. Sound funny? Well, that is precisely what a Colorado employer that furnishes security services to legal cannabis growers/sellers has pressed on the Tenth Circuit. The employer’s theory is that the…
Decertification of a Class and Rejection of Another Class in the Same Case: The Daily Double!
By Mark Tabakman on
This is an interesting case because it combines the elements of necessary, but not proven, commonality of situation for class certification and a quirky element of overtime calculation based on a unique FLSA provision. The bottom line is that the two workers who sought a class action on both the federal and state levels lost…