Jeffrey Vlasek

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California State Court Rules That Loose Change Adds Up … and So Will the Penalties

By Jeffrey Vlasek on August 1, 2018 Posted in Wage and Hour

We’ve all been there: You pull up to a parking spot, hop out to check whether the meter requires payment on Sunday and then grumble as you fish around in the coin tray. With any luck, you find a quarter or two. More often than not, however, you’re stuck with nickels and the nigh-useless penny. (Of … Continue Reading

The Supreme Court Confirms That Class Plaintiffs Must Take Their Bite of the Apple Sooner Rather Than Later

By Jeffrey Vlasek on June 12, 2018 Posted in Class Action Litigation, Rule 23

Although he is remembered as a Los Angeles Laker, Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as basketball trivia buffs know, actually began his NBA career on the Milwaukee Bucks. After turning down an offer to play for the Harlem Globetrotters, Abdul-Jabbar was drafted by the Bucks in 1969, where he won the MVP in his second … Continue Reading

Here’s a Tip for You, Jack – Fifth Circuit Upholds Ruling on Restaurant Credit Card Offset

By Jeffrey Vlasek on June 23, 2016 Posted in Wage and Hour

Life is filled with risky decisions. Should you take that new job? Should you put in an offer on that house that is just out of your price range? Should you really eat that last piece of cake when you’ve already had two? Companies make big gambles, too. For example, should Lionsgate really invest millions … Continue Reading

California Supreme Court Tells Employers to Sit a Spell While Courts Review Individual Factors for Suitable Seating

By Jeffrey Vlasek on April 27, 2016 Posted in Class Certification

“Shut the door. Have a seat.” The phrase immediately conjures emotions from the recipient. Most likely, life-changing (typically bad) news is about to be imparted. For Mad Men fans, it harkens to the third-season finale when the partners decide to split and start their own firm (and when Betty finally tells Don to take a … Continue Reading

Court Sends Plaintiffs Back to the Locker Room Unhappy When It Denies Conditional Certification

By Jeffrey Vlasek on September 29, 2014 Posted in Conditional Certification, FLSA

In January 2014, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell raised eyebrows (and ire) when he announced that the league was considering eliminating the extra point after a touchdown. As Goodell put it, “the extra point is almost automatic,” given that it is kicked from the twenty yard line, and it is exceptionally rare that a professional NFL … Continue Reading

Employees Seek To Take Bite From Apple (and Urban Outfitters)

By Jeffrey Vlasek on February 25, 2014 Posted in Overtime Claims, Retail, Wage and Hour

Chances are that if you ask someone what they remember from the cult-classic Paul Verhoeven film Total Recall, they’ll recall (among other things) the sequence where Arnold Schwarzenegger attempts to sneak through security. In the sequence, guards watch all of the citizens passing through on a large x-ray screen which depicts their skeletons (in glorious … Continue Reading

California Court Rejects Proposed Settlement Like Audiences Reject The Lone Ranger

By Jeffrey Vlasek on August 7, 2013 Posted in FLSA, Overtime Claims

Does anyone remember when Iron Man 3 came out back at the beginning of May? Does anyone care that it’s the highest grossing movie of 2013? Probably not. And most people probably don’t care that July 2013 went down as the second highest-grossing month of all time, thanks to Despicable Me 2, Monsters University, and … Continue Reading

The Southern District of New York Rules That Internships Must Be Educational (Unlike the Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson Film of the Same Name)

By Jeffrey Vlasek on June 14, 2013 Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour

It has been said that the vast majority of movies coming out of Hollywood these days are “brainless.” Despite that (often accurate) description, there are always a handful of films that manage to squeak into theaters and earn critical praise for their intelligent, thought-provoking stories, and educate the audience on a particular subject matter or character. … Continue Reading

The Fourth Circuit Uncovers A Lack Of Certification Analysis In Recent Pinkerton Class Action

By Jeffrey Vlasek on March 21, 2013 Posted in FLSA, Meal and Rest Periods

On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States. Shortly after his election, rumors of a possible plot to assassinate the decidedly pro-Union President-elect began to circulate. With several Southern states threatening secession from the Union, the tension in the D.C. area was palpable. On February 23, 1861, Lincoln … Continue Reading

The Seventh Circuit Affirms That The District Court Bit Off More Than It Could Chew By Affirming Decertification In Collective Action

By Jeffrey Vlasek on February 7, 2013 Posted in FLSA

Hollywood certainly believes that it’s often easier to reach back into the well than to spend time creating something new. (See, e.g., any movie series that has more than one sequel.) Sometimes, we here at the Employment Class Action Blog are no different. Take, for example, this week’s Seventh Circuit decision in Espenscheid v. DirectSat, … Continue Reading

Second in Time, First in Right? The Third Circuit Reminds Us That The First-Filed Case Doesn’t Always Get to Go First

By Jeffrey Vlasek on November 6, 2012 Posted in Uncategorized

It’s difficult to capture lightning in a bottle, an idiom that is especially true in the world of television production. As we grind into the first full week of November, many of the new series that premiered only a few scant weeks ago have already vanished from the air. (Made in Jersey, anyone?) Indeed, for … Continue Reading

Eighth Circuit Affirms Jury Verdict Despite Confusion over Whether the Standard is Reasonable Time or Actual Time for Compensable Activities

By Jeffrey Vlasek on September 17, 2012 Posted in Donning and Doffing, FLSA

Unless you’re one of the twelve people in the world who didn’t see The Avengers this summer, you can likely recall the scene where Tony Stark literally “steps out” of his Iron Man suit after landing on his penthouse ledge. Indeed, the fictional billionaire has perfected the doffing of his hardware to a science—the machines … Continue Reading

The Seventh Circuit Affirms That You Should Be Careful What You Wish For

By Jeffrey Vlasek on August 13, 2012 Posted in Wage and Hour

Movie villains are fueled by clichés. For example, in American cinema, villains tend to be foreign (particularly during the Cold War). See Die Hard (1988); Red Dawn (1984). Movie villains also typically have a side-kick muscleman, who traditionally, kills using a gimmick. See any James Bond film (but specifically Goldfinger (1964)). However, one of the … Continue Reading

Court Limits Notice Despite Conditional Certification

By Jeffrey Vlasek on July 5, 2012 Posted in Class Certification, FLSA

Mad Men is a show known for many things: it’s a snapshot of the style and attitudes of the 1960’s, an accurate representation of the themes and difficulties of that period, and it thrives on the “slow burn” story lines that typically take an entire season to unfold before reaching conclusion. Indeed, it is a … Continue Reading

Judge Denies Class Certification as California Courts Continue to Weather the Wake of Brinker

By Jeffrey Vlasek on May 22, 2012 Posted in Meal and Rest Periods, Wage and Hour

Sometimes, when a heavily hyped movie arrives in theaters, the tremendous business it generates can have a negative effect on all the other surrounding films. For example, The Avengers landed in American cinemas on May 4, 2012. Since that time, not only has it racked up astronomical box office figures of its own (in fact, … Continue Reading

Pharmaceutical Companies Receive A Late-Season Pick-up With Regard To Seventh Circuit Ruling On Administrative Exemption

By Jeffrey Vlasek on May 11, 2012 Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour

Early May in America is known for several things. For most of us living outside the Sunbelt, the temperature manages to stay above 60 degrees consistently, flowers start to bloom in earnest, baseball season begins to heat up, and (perhaps most importantly), the annual tradition of waiting for television networks to announce what shows are … Continue Reading

California Court Proves That They’ll Print Anything These Days With Denial of Decertification in Newspaper Carrier Case

By Jeffrey Vlasek on April 30, 2012 Posted in Independent Contractors, Overtime Claims, Wage and Hour

When James Bond brandishes his Walther PPK and walks into a printing plant, you know one thing is certain – you will be “treated” to at least a half-dozen newspaper puns. And, since this article is about a recent California case involving newspaper carriers, it will, of course, be no different. Ever since Wal-Mart Stores, … Continue Reading

Plaintiffs Swallow Bitter Pill With Dismissal of Class Breach of ERISA Fiduciary Duty Claim for Alleged Wage and Hour Violations

By Jeffrey Vlasek on March 19, 2012 Posted in ERISA, Overtime Claims

The case of DeSilva v. North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Inc., Case No. 10-CV-1341-JFB-ETB (E.D.N.Y. March 7, 2012), began small, like a lone cough one winter’s morning, before escalating into a full-blown cold, complete with hacking and wheezing. At first there were six plaintiffs working as nurses. After two amended complaints, however, the purported … Continue Reading

Adrift With Uncertainty, Seventh Circuit Certifies Race Discrimination Class

By Jeffrey Vlasek on March 6, 2012 Posted in Class Certification

The Supreme Court hurled a large stone into the pond of employment class action lawsuits when it handed down its decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011). Despite being on the books now for almost an entire year, many of the Dukes ripples have still yet to reach shore, forcing … Continue Reading

Western District of Pennsylvania Decertifies Funeral Home Worker Class and Reminds Plaintiffs They Can’t Take It With Them

By Jeffrey Vlasek on September 26, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Overtime Claims

Fair warning to our readers – most of the puns in this article will likely be dead on arrival. It goes without saying that for most of us, the last place we’re likely to be found (literally and figuratively) is inside of a funeral home. For the plaintiffs in Prise v. Alderwoods Group, Inc., Case … Continue Reading

The Southern District of New York Denies Conditional Certification of Proposed Overtime Class of Store Managers

By Jeffrey Vlasek on July 15, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Overtime Claims, Wage and Hour

Plaintiff Given a Bitter Pill to Swallow in Vitamin Shoppe Just as Harry Potter or Transformers will rule over the summer box office, the Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes will undoubtedly reign supreme over the employment law class and collective action discussions for the summer of 2011. But even amidst the big-budget thrills … Continue Reading

Third Time Isn’t the Charm When Court Refuses to Grant Certification of a State Law Opt-Out Class

By Jeffrey Vlasek on June 6, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Off-the-clock, Rule 23, Wage and Hour

There’s a saying in Hollywood – “The last sequel is the one that doesn’t make any money.” Unfortunately for moviegoers, too often a franchise is exhausted beyond its foreseeable lifespan by a studio looking to cash in on characters one last time before the end, despite an audience’s waning interest in the series. Thus, instead … Continue Reading

Skycaps’ Collective Action Grounded Before Takeoff

By Jeffrey Vlasek on March 1, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour

Many who have had the “pleasure” of traveling by plane in the past few years have no doubt been placed in a veritable Hurt Locker of bag fees and surcharges. The Adams v. US Airways, Inc.pdf 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14660 (D. Ariz. Feb. 11, 2011), matter arose from those humble beginnings, much like Dev Patel … Continue Reading

Solid Pre-Game Preparation Pays Big Dividends In California Wage Class Action

By Jeffrey Vlasek on February 4, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Meal and Rest Periods

Too often in law school (and in the many years that follow) students are forced to read cases where final decisions will turn on one minute detail, or an obscure rule of law that rarely comes into play. It is for all of these reasons that Villa v. Tyco Electronics Corp., Case No. C 10-00516 … Continue Reading