Class Actions - Wage & Hour

Seventh Circuit Adopts More Flexible Standard for Issuing Notice in Collective Actions In a significant shift from longstanding precedent, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh rejected the widely used two-step “ Lusardi ”1 framework for issuing notice in collective actions under Section 216(b)

TakeawaysThe Seventh Circuit found the traditional two-step approach in collective actions too lenient, but more recent frameworks too restrictive.The panel rejected a rigid test in favor of giving courts flexibility to decide in each case whether they have the evidence they need to make the determi

On August 16, 2024, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on whether out-of-state plaintiffs must satisfy personal jurisdiction requirements to participate in a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In a 2–1 decision, the Seventh Circuit held they must, joining the T

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit joins a growing number of federal circuits to hold the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2017 decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court, that sharply limited the use of nationwide multi-plaintiff suits, applies to putative Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

The Sixth Circuit has become the second federal appeals court to toughen the standard for plaintiffs seeking court-authorized notice to potential claimants in a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). On May 19, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held in Brook

On May 19, 2023, in Clark v. A&L Home Care and Training Center, LLC. , the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected the familiar two-step certification procedure in collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), instead requiring lead plaintiffs to demonstrate a “strong li

A federal district court located within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has adopted the heightened standard for certification of a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) established in a 2021 landmark opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for

On April 14, 2023, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Ellis, J.) declined to conditionally certify a collective of USA Today sports website editors, ruling that the familiar two-step Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective certification process would lead to ir

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to settle the circuit split on whether its 2017 decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of Cal. applies to collective actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In Bristol-Myers, a mass tort action, the justices held that a federal court co

On June 6, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear petitions seeking review of whether federal courts may exercise personal jurisdiction over claims of nonresident plaintiffs who join Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective actions when their claims are not connected to the

In its 2017 decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of Cal ., the U.S. Supreme Court held that a state court could not exercise specific personal jurisdiction over nonresident plaintiffs’ claims against a nonresident company.

Recently, and for the first time in more than 20 years, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled on the transportation worker exemption contained in Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). In Waithaka v. Amazon.com, Inc. , 966 F.3d 10 (1st Cir. 2020), the court

Salvador Simao On Christmas Eve, the Third Circuit issued a decision restricting certification of wage/hour classes for off-the-clock cases and increasing the threshold

In many suits filed as collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), individuals hoping to join the action as opt-in plaintiffs submit consents to join the lawsuit even before the named plaintiff moves for conditional certification of the collective. Companies and courts are often un

It is a party that most employers don’t believe is a lot of fun: a FLSA collective action party. In a case of first impression, the Eleventh Circuit addressed the question of whether an opt-in plaintiff is required to do anything beyond filing a written consent to become a party plaintiff in a colle

In a case for minimum wage and overtime claims, the Eleventh Circuit joined the D.C., Second, Third, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits in holding that a state-law Rule 23 class action may be maintained in the same proceeding as a Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) collective action. Calderone, et. al. v. S

Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling in Morris v. Ernst & Young, dealing a surprising blow to the enforceability of class and collective action waivers in employment arbitration agreements. More specifically, the Ninth Circuit agreed with the view of the National Labor Relation

On April 21, 2016, Uber tried to buy its peace from two class actions in a $100 million settlement with 385,000 putative class members. See O’Connor v. Uber Technologies Inc., 3:13-cv-03826 (N.D. Cal.); Yucesoy v. Uber Technologies Inc., 3:15-cv-00262 (N.D. Cal.). However, as of July 14, 2016, the c

recent New York State Supreme Court decision raises the bar for certifying an “opt out” class of unpaid interns seeking minimum or other wages, and provides valuable guidance for employers facing challenges to their unpaid internship programs. Rodriguez v. 5W Public Relations, Index No. 156571/14 (J

In a case that could be of significant benefit to employers in California and elsewhere around the country, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a ruling that plaintiffs failed to satisfy the “commonality” requirement essential to a collective action on their wage-hour claim where th