Tag Archives: conditional certification

Florida Court Denies Conditional Certification in Tip Credit Case

By Greg Mersol on February 17, 2021 Posted in Class Certification

Court also rejects ‘fail-safe class’ allegations The restaurant industry has been among the hardest hit during the current pandemic, but that has not prevented plaintiffs from pursuing class and collective action claims against it. A recent case, however, has rejected two fairly common problems inherent in these kinds of cases. In Balassiano v. Fogo De … Continue Reading

The Fifth Circuit Rejects Two-Stage Conditional Certification Procedure for FLSA Collective Actions

By Greg Mersol on January 15, 2021 Posted in FLSA

Court directs application of a more rigorous and more sensible standard. Much of the current tsunami of wage and hour litigation across the country has been fueled by the use of a two-step procedure in Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) collective actions that simultaneously facilitates the bringing of such claims and puts unreasonable pressure on … Continue Reading

A Lawful Job Description Doesn’t Support Conditional Certification

By Greg Mersol on June 5, 2020 Posted in Conditional Certification

Virtually every brief seeking conditional certification will point to an employer policy that allegedly ties the collective or class together. But as a growing number of courts are recognizing, a uniform policy is not sufficient; rather, the plaintiffs must point to some classwide policy or practice that is actually illegal. That was the issue in … Continue Reading

Court Grants Summary Judgment For Employer In Tip Credit Collective Action

By Greg Mersol on November 9, 2017 Posted in Wage and Hour

What? I Need a Valid Claim to Represent a Class?! With scores of collective actions being filed every month and many courts willing to issue conditional certification on even very weak claims, it’s easy to forget that, yes, it’s important for there to be a claim in the first place. That’s one of the lessons … Continue Reading

District Court Denies Conditional Certification of Off-the-Clock Case Despite Bad Emails

By Greg Mersol on June 3, 2016 Posted in Conditional Certification, Wage and Hour

“As far as overtime, you (like I) can only bill a 40hr work week even though we put in like 60hrs at times.” This isn’t exactly the email you want to see if you are defending an off-the-clock wage and hour claim, but it was one of several addressed this week by the District of … 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

Minnesota District Court Rejects Nationwide Scope and Conditionally Certifies Class of One Chipotle Store

By Greg Mersol on September 18, 2014 Posted in Conditional Certification, FLSA, Retail

Employees win most motions for conditional certification under the FLSA, with many courts declining to perform a probing analysis at that stage. A recent case from the District of Minnesota, in which the court still applied a deferential standard, had the unusual result that the court granted conditional certification as to a single Chipotle store … Continue Reading