Conditional Certification

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By: Kevin Young and Noah Finkel

Seyfarth Synopsis. Businesses familiar with FLSA litigation are aware of the frustrating ease with which some courts have turned single-plaintiff cases into large-scale collective action proceedings. But the tides are shifting, as the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has joined the Fifth Circuit in rejecting the “lenient standard” for collective action certification and demanding…

Continue Reading A “Strong Likelihood” of Change: Sixth Circuit Joins the Fifth in Raising the FLSA Certification Bar

By: Tim Watson, Brian Wadsworth, and John Phillips

Seyfarth Synopsis: In an important decision for employers, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the all-too lenient but commonly accepted Lusardi standard for conditional certification under the FLSA. In its place, the court adopted a more practical, common sense approach in deciding whether trial courts should send notice to …
Continue Reading No More Two-Step in Texas (and Beyond): the Fifth Circuit Rejects the Two-Stage Lusardi Approach to Conditional Certification in Favor of Employer-Friendly Standard

By: Robert S. Whitman and Howard M. Wexler

Seyfarth Synopsis: A New York federal court once again denied a motion for conditional certification of a nationwide collective action against Barnes & Noble.  The ruling highlights that, even though the burden for “first stage” certification is modest, courts are willing to apply a “modest plus” approach after discovery relevant to…
Continue Reading Don’t Judge a Conditional Certification Motion By Its Cover

Book that says JusticeCo-authored by Robert S. Whitman and Howard M. Wexler

Seyfarth Synopsis: A New York federal court denied a motion for conditional certification of a nationwide collective action against Barnes & Noble. The ruling highlights that, even though the burden for “first stage” certification is modest, courts may not approve such motions without evidence that the named plaintiffs are similarly …
Continue Reading Don’t Judge a Conditional Certification Motion by Its Cover

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 Gerald Maatman, Jr. 

Seyfarth Synopsis: Workplace class action filings were flat overall and even decreased as compared to levels in 2015. However, that is apt to change in 2017. In the 4th in a series of blog postings on workplace class action trends, we examine what employers are likely to see in 2017.

Introduction

Overall complex employment-related litigation…
Continue Reading What 2016 Workplace Class Actions Filings Suggest Employers Are Apt To Face In 2017

SDFLAuthored by Christopher Kelleher and Noah Finkel

Seyfarth Synopsis: Federal court denies motion for conditional certification for a proposed class of employees working at separate Subway franchises.

Earlier this year, the DOL’s Wage-Hour Division issued a much-publicized Administrator Interpretation on what employers constitute joint employers, including an explanation of how two or more employers under common ownership can constitute…
Continue Reading A Fresh Take on the Horizontal Joint Employment Theory: Conditional Certification for Subway Employees Denied

Authored by Hillary J. Massey

Employers have a new tool for opposing conditional and class certification of overtime claims by financial advisors and other exempt employees—last week, a judge in the District of New Jersey denied conditional and class certification of such claims because the plaintiffs failed to show that common issues predominated. The court, pointing to other decisions denying…
Continue Reading Advising On Their Own: Financial Advisors’ Class Claims Defeated

EDNY-SealCo-authored by Robert S. Whitman and Howard M. Wexler

Plaintiffs’ counsel frequently speak of the “low” burden necessary at first stage for conditional certification under the FLSA.  However, a recent decision from the Eastern District of New York highlights that plaintiffs may win the battle over conditional certification but still lose the war for final certification at second stage.

In…
Continue Reading Doing the “Two Step”: Court Denies Second Stage Certification of FLSA Claims

Co-authored by Molly C. Mooney and Noah Finkel

Last week, a federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois lifted the weight of collective action certification off Life Time Fitness, Inc. and refused to certify a proposed collective of more than 6,000 personal trainers because each trainer’s employment varied too much to resolve their potential claims on a collective basis.
Continue Reading Lifting the Weight: Conditional Certification Denied for Personal Trainers Claiming Off-the-Clock Work