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
Authored by Gena B. Usenheimer
As we previously reported, this past August, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Department of Labor’s Final Rule imposing sweeping changes to the former companionship exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The group of home care associations that challenged the scope of the new regulations in court recently asked the U.S.
Continue Reading DOL’s New Companionship Exemption to Take Effect on October 13
Co-authored by Richard Alfred, Patrick Bannon and Esther Slater McDonald
Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear an appeal challenging a nearly $6.0 million judgment in a collective and class action case against Tyson Foods, Inc. In Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, a wage and hour collective and class action regarding the
Continue Reading Game Changer? The Supreme Court Agrees to Consider Standards for Certifying FLSA Collective Actions and State Law Class Actions
Authored by Steve Shardonofsky
In the beginning, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Genesis Healthcare that an FLSA case is moot when the plaintiff accepts an offer of full relief. As we noted in our previous blog, the decision left open, however, the question of what happens when the plaintiff affirmatively declines the offer or when the offer expires,
Continue Reading Genesis Healthcare May Be Merely the First Book in Bible on Mooting Class/Collective Actions
Authored by Barry Miller
On Monday, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association, examining the validity of the Department of Labor’s 2010 Administrator’s Interpretation on the application of the FLSA’s administrative exemption to mortgage loan officers. As noted in our previous post, the D.C. Circuit struck down the Administrator’s Interpretation because the DOL
Continue Reading Supreme Court Holds that Flip-Flopping Alone Does Not Invalidate DOL’s Guidance on Exempt Status of Mortgage Loan Officers
Co-authored by David D. Kadue and Simon L. Yang
On Tuesday, January 20, 2015, the Court declined to take the case of CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC v. Iskanian, in which an employer asked the Court to reverse a ruling of the California Supreme Court. At issue was whether an employee who has agreed to submit all employment-related claims
Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Referee Slugfest Between Federal and California Courts on Enforceability of Arbitration Agreements
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
Authored by Julie G. Yap
On Monday morning, the Supreme Court yet again rejected a would-be class action plaintiff’s attempts to avoid federal court. The Court’s order again affirmed that defendants need not overcome significant barriers to plead their cases in federal court—a position contrary to that often advanced by plaintiffs and their counsel in opposing the removal of putative
Co-authored by Barry Miller and Taron Murakami
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a pair of cases addressing the Department of Labor’s reversal in its position regarding the exempt status of mortgage loan officers. The Justices’ questions reflected concern about the DOL flip-flopping on this issue, but they also expressed a reticence to issue a broad ruling that
Continue Reading Angst, Administration and Interpretation: Supreme Court Hears Arguments on DOL’s Flip-Flopping on Exempt Status of Mortgage Loan Officers
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