Tag Archives: “collective actions”

Court Vacates Jury Award Due to Problems With Plaintiffs’ Expert Reports

By Greg Mersol on June 26, 2020 Posted in Collective Action

Few collective actions are tried, and even when they are, unexpected problems can easily arise. Those problems in a recent case led to the court vacating a jury verdict for the plaintiffs due to what might be characterized as an untimely expert report. But the case really came down to an initial expert report that … Continue Reading

Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo: The Supreme Court Produces a Narrow Holding Involving FLSA Precedent and Rule 23 Principles

By John Lewis and Dustin Dow on March 25, 2016 Posted in FLSA, Rule 23

Employees have been bringing wage-and-hour collective actions since long before class procedures were officially integrated into the Federal Rules of Civil Procedures in 1966. Section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) permitted collective actions when it was passed in 1938. In 1946, the Supreme Court in Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co., 328 … Continue Reading

Ohio District Judges Puts an End to Nationwide FLSA Collective Action Brought Against Lowe’s

By Gilbert Brosky on November 6, 2014 Posted in Collective Action, FLSA, Retail

While we have occasionally bemoaned the lenient conditional certification standard in FLSA collective actions, as the recent case of Triggs v. Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc., No. 1:13-cv-1897 (N.D. Ohio Aug. 19, 2014) shows, not all courts are willing to rubberstamp collective actions onto the second stage of litigation. The six plaintiffs in Triggs were former … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Upholds Use of Rule 68 Offers of Judgment in FLSA Collective Actions

By Greg Mersol on April 16, 2013 Posted in FLSA, Rule 68

Today the United States Supreme Court delivered an unexpected present to employers facing FLSA collective actions and held that a defendant may moot such a case by making a Rule 68 offer of judgment to the named plaintiff. Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, Case No. 11-1059 (Apr. 16, 2013). We wrote about the lower court’s … Continue Reading

In Overtime Collective Actions, Primary Duties Are . . . Primary Duties

By Greg Mersol on October 20, 2010 Posted in Primary Duties Test

Many overtime cases challenge the exempt status of the members of the putative class and, more specifically, contest whether their “primary” duties are exempt and therefore meet the requirements of the exemptions relied upon by the employer.. This inquiry is made somewhat more difficult because of the differences in federal law and the laws of … Continue Reading