Southern District of New York

Co-authored by Robert S. Whitman and Needhy Shah

Seyfarth Synopsis: A judge in the Southern District of New York held that FLSA off-the-clock claims could not proceed collectively because the employer’s policy enforcement and approval of overtime compensation varied by supervisor.

In Lynch v. City of New York, Judge Katherine Forrest rejected an attempt to prosecute a single collective
Continue Reading “Similarly Situated” Seriously Scrutinized by Southern District

driving car on highway, close up of hands on steering wheel

Co-authored by Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Gina Merrill, Brendan Sweeney, and Mark W. Wallin

Seyfarth Synopsis: A New York federal court in Durling, et al. v. Papa John’s International, Inc., Case No. 7:16-CV-03592 (CS) (JCM) (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 29, 2017), recently denied Plaintiffs’ motion for conditional certification of a nationwide collective action in an FLSA minimum wage action
Continue Reading New York Court Delivers Denial Of Certification In Papa John’s Drivers’ Class Action

Authored by Robert S. Whitman and Howard M. Wexler

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently announced that cases filed under the FLSA and assigned to Judges Abrams, Briccetti, Carter, Daniels, Ramos, Seibel, and Woods will be ordered directly to mediation, before the initial Rule 16 conference, with limited pre-mediation disclosures. If successful,
Continue Reading SDNY Adopts Pilot Mandatory Mediation Program for FLSA Cases

Co-authored by Robert Whitman and Adam J. Smiley

Seyfarth Synopsis: Fox Searchlight and Fox Entertainment Group have reached a preliminary settlement with a group of former unpaid interns, possibly resolving the lawsuit that resulted in a Second Circuit decision that redefined the test used to evaluate whether interns are properly classified under the FLSA.

As this blog has previously reported
Continue Reading That’s a Wrap: Fox Reaches Deal with Unpaid Interns

Co-authored by Rob Whitman, Adam Smiley, and Nadia Bandukda

A federal judge has sided with Gawker in the media company’s legal battle with a former unpaid intern who claimed that he should have been compensated as an employee. On March 29th, Judge Alison Nathan in the Southern District of New York granted Gawker’s motion for summary judgment and
Continue Reading Gawker Victory Against Unpaid Interns Provides Helpful Roadmap

Authored by Geoffrey Westbrook

After more than four years of litigation, Citibank hauled in a significant victory last week against putative class and collective actions in Ruiz v. Citibank. Personal bankers from California, New York, Washington D.C. and other states alleged that Citibank withheld overtime pay under a nationwide scheme encouraging off-the-clock work. Although finding “systematic violations at the
Continue Reading Citibank Cashes In With Big Win On Nationwide Overtime Class and Collective Actions

Authored by Adam J. Smiley

A New York federal judge gave an initial thumbs-up last Thursday to what is believed to be the largest unpaid internship settlement on the books: $450,000.

Elite Model Management was sued by a former unpaid intern in February 2013 (See Complaint), claiming that Elite deliberately misclassified interns as non-employees who were not protected
Continue Reading Run[a]way Recovery: Unpaid Modeling Agency Interns Set to Cash In