Authored by Michael W. Kopp

In a case that is certain to provide an important sequel to the Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes and Comcast Corp. v. Behrend decisions, the Supreme Court will hear argument next week on Tyson Foods Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, to address (1) the use of statistical averaging in class actions to prove liability and damages,
Continue Reading Another Watershed Moment for Class Actions? SCOTUS to Address Limits on Statistical Proof in Class and Collective Actions

Co-authored by Catherine M. Dacre, Tamara Fisher, and Simon L. Yang

When an employer has a denial of class certification remanded by an appellate court, it has a reason to worry. And while the employer might breathe a sigh of relief when the district court on remand again denies class certification, nothing is certain when that decision also
Continue Reading Appellate Court Delivers for FedEx—Second Class Cert Denial Affirmed by Ninth Circuit

Authored by Gena D. Usenheimer

Hourly pharmacists for CVS in California were forced to swallow a bitter pill late last year when Judge S. James Otero of the Central District or California denied their motion for class certification on claims for unpaid off-the-clock and overtime work.

The plaintiffs alleged that they were forced to work additional hours without pay in
Continue Reading Bad Medicine: California Pharmacists Lose Bid For Class Certification

Authored by Alex Passantino

It’s the week before Christmas, and we’ve accepted our mission,
The annual wage hour “sum-up” composition.
And to start it all off, we’ve got something nice,
‘Cause the Supreme Court addressed wage and hour stuff twice.

The year started out with the first one of those;
As Justice Scalia answered “What counts as clothes?”
With
Continue Reading Integral Clothes and Mistletoes: 2014 Year in Review

Co-authored by Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Matthew J. Gagnon

In a huge win for restaurant companies everywhere, Judge William Dimitrouleas of the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida recently decertified a nationwide collective action against Darden Restaurants, Inc. – the corporate home of such iconic brands as Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse – in Mathis
Continue Reading A WRONG IS RIGHTED: DARDEN’S POLICIES VINDICATED IN DECERTIFICATION OF NATIONWIDE COLLECTIVE ACTION

Co-authored by Robert S. Whitman and Howard M. Wexler

Last summer, the Second Circuit issued a flurry of decisions clarifying the pleading standard in FLSA cases.  In one of those cases, Dejesus v. HF Management Services, LLC, the court held that, in order to state a valid overtime claim after the Supreme Court’s decisions in Iqbal and Twombly,
Continue Reading No Bones About It: Courts Within Second Circuit Continue to Dismiss “Bare Bones” FLSA Complaints

Authored by Brian P. Long

A seemingly never ending wave of call center class actions has been leveled against employers in recent years.  The hallmark of these suits invariably includes allegations of purportedly homogenous “drones” working off-the-clock when they are not helping customers.  Companies are left with few options other than shout into the wind that their policies prohibit such
Continue Reading One of These Things Is Not Like the Others: Some Class Representatives Just Don’t Belong

Authored by Jessica Schauer Lieberman

The Department of Labor surprised employers last week by weighing in on Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, which is currently pending before the Supreme Court, and supporting the employer’s position.  The administration’s amicus brief, filed last Wednesday, is good news for employers that require their workers to pass through security screenings before or
Continue Reading DOL Shows Integrity in Supporting Employer on Compensability of Time Spent in Security Screenings

Authored by Noah Finkel

California has long been regarded as the epicenter of wage and hour litigation.  It is where the most cases are filed. It has the most onerous wage and hour laws. And those laws contain the most draconian remedies.  Because of this, California wage and hour claims tend to carry higher settlement value than FLSA claims or
Continue Reading 1 California Class Member = 9 FLSA Collective Action Members

Co-authored by Arthur Rooney and Abad Lopez

Under FLSA section 203(o), time spent “changing clothes or washing at the beginning or end of each workday” is excluded from compensable time if it is treated as non-work time by a collective bargaining agreement.  So, does section 203(o) only apply to time spent donning and doffing at the beginning and end
Continue Reading Try This On For Size: Seventh Circuit Rejects Factory Workers’ Donning and Doffing Claims Based On Expansive View Of The “Workday”