Tag Archives: “misclassified workers”

Maryland District Court Refuses Conditional Certification of Proposed Class of Grocery Store Managers

By Greg Mersol on April 15, 2020 Posted in FLSA

Grocery stores have taken on special prominence as being on the front lines of the current coronavirus pandemic. Just as that role was becoming apparent, the federal district court in Maryland issued a strong opinion not only denying conditional certification for a class of grocery store managers, but also dismissing many of their claims. In … Continue Reading

Fifth Circuit Applies Fluctuating Work Week in FLSA Misclassification Case

By Greg Mersol on August 30, 2013 Posted in Overtime Claims

You might want to grab a calculator, or at least some strong coffee, before reading this. If an employee or group of employees have been found to have been misclassified as exempt, are they entitled to time-and-a-half for overtime hours, or only the half-time premium? Years ago, the Supreme Court seemed to indicate that in … Continue Reading

Exotic Dancers Continue to Rake in Class Action Dollar Bills

By Holli Hartman on November 21, 2012 Posted in FLSA

In our continuing coverage of exotic dancer performances on the class action stage, another group of dancers from California recently won approval of a multi-million dollar settlement in a wage and hour class action suit. A California federal district court judge approved a nearly $13 million settlement for a class of dancers who had worked … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Affirms Jury Verdict for Employer in Mortgage Banker Case

By Greg Mersol on November 2, 2012 Posted in FLSA, Overtime Claims

While most class actions, like most actions generally, tend to settle, they are on occasion tried. In the case of wage and hour litigation, employers can and have prevailed at trial as demonstrated by a case from the Sixth Circuit. In Henry v. Quicken Loans Inc.pdf, Case No. 11-2125 (6th Cir. Oct. 25, 2012), the … Continue Reading

Overtime Pay Class Certified Despite Individualized Issues

By Greg Mersol on June 1, 2012 Posted in Overtime Claims

Authorship credit: S. Jeanine Conley Editor’s Note: Analysis of the Cuevas decision can also be read on Baker Hostetler’s Class Action Lawsuit Defense blog. In Cuevas v. Citizens Financial Group Inc.pdf, Case No. 10-cv-5582 (E.D.N.Y. May 2, 2012), the plaintiff brought an action on behalf of all Assistant Bank Managers (“ABMs”) who had worked at one of … 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

Ninth Circuit Denies Rule 23 Class Certification Based On Actual Duties

By Todd Dawson on March 26, 2012 Posted in Overtime Claims

Is the GOP slipping something into the water supply in San Francisco? Do they know some dirty secrets about some Ninth Circuit judges? Has the whole world gone crazy? The Ninth Circuit’s decision a few days ago in Delodder v. Aerotek, Inc. continues an encouraging—and surprising—trend in Ninth Circuit wage and hour law toward emphasizing … Continue Reading

California Appeals Court Rejects Attempt to Try California Misclassification Case by Statistics

By Gilbert Brosky on February 13, 2012 Posted in Meal and Rest Periods, Overtime Claims, Wage and Hour

The California Court of Appeal issued a rare decision in favor of employers last week, when it reversed a class action judgment of $15 million and decertified a class of 260 current and former bank employees who claimed they had been misclassified as exempt and were therefore entitled to meal and rest break premiums. News … Continue Reading

Seventh Circuit Finds Certification of Overtime Disputes Meets Dukes Standards

By Greg Mersol on February 2, 2012 Posted in Class Certification

The Seventh Circuit has now issued a decision relating to the application of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), to state law overtime disputes. While the decision is curious for many reasons, it may prove problematic for Seventh Circuit employers as it relates both to the issue of class definitions and … Continue Reading

California Court Affirms Summary Judgment Against Putative Class of Insurance Agents

By Greg Mersol on January 13, 2012 Posted in Independent Contractors, Wage and Hour

Court Finds That Insurance Agents Were Independent Contractors As A Matter Of Law As we have noted in prior blogs, litigation involving alleged independent contractor status is on the rise, and is increasingly the topic of class action claims. Plaintiffs in these cases tend to argue that they were misclassified as independent contractors and were … Continue Reading

Court Denies Conditional Certification of Putative Class of Restaurant Managers And Assistant Managers

By Greg Mersol on November 10, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Overtime Claims, Wage and Hour

As we have commented before, there are no class actions per se under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Rather, the plaintiffs must demonstrate that the proposed class members are “similarly situated.” In making that determination, most courts considering certification of classes under the FLSA now use a two-step procedure. At the first stage, they apply … Continue Reading

Court Compels Arbitration of Putative FLSA Collective Action on an Individual Basis

By Greg Mersol on November 9, 2011 Posted in FLSA

It has been less than a year since the United States Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, in which it held that arbitration agreements requiring the resolution of putative class action claims on an individual basis were enforceable. A recent decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio … Continue Reading

California District Court Denies Certification of Putative Class of Independent Contractor Strippers

By Holli Hartman on October 19, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Independent Contractors, Overtime Claims, Wage and Hour

COURT: EXOTIC PERFORMER MUST DANCE THE DANCE TO LEAD A CLASS ACTION An exotic dancer’s effort to certify a class of dancers in a minimum wage suit against an adult night club in California hit a bump and ground to a temporary halt in early October after a federal court determined she could not serve … Continue Reading

California Court Denies Certification of Class of Costco Managers

By Greg Mersol on October 13, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Retail, Rule 23

California has been the focus of numerous class action wage and hour suits involving retail managers and assistant managers. One reason is that California law defines the executive exemption slightly, but significantly differently than, federal law. Under both the FLSA and California law, courts will consider whether the employee’s “primary duty” is management. While under … Continue Reading

If At First You Don’t Succeed….Your “Plan B” Will Probably Fail, Too

By Todd Dawson on August 10, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Overtime Claims

Having already struck out on a curveball they thought was a fastball over the middle of the plate, Schering Corp. is now 0 for 2 following the latest ruling from the Connecticut federal district court in Kuzinski et al. v. Schering Corp.pdf., Case No. 3:07-cv-0233-JBA (D. Conn. August 5, 2011). The case began over four years ago, when Schering’s sales reps … 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

Court Finds FLSA Precludes State Overtime Class Actions

By Greg Mersol on May 30, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour

Rule 23 classes require class members to opt out if they do not want to participate in the litigation. Fair Labor Standards Act classes require class members to affirmatively opt in. Are the two compatible? No, according to a recent pair of cases from the Middle District of Pennsylvania. In fact, the court held that … Continue Reading

Resort Industry Finds No Refuge From Liability for Misclassification of Salespersons

By Holli Hartman on May 17, 2011 Posted in Wage and Hour

In Whitehead v. Vacation Charters, Ltd., a class action judgment in excess of $2.2 million was entered against the owner/operator of a Poconos timeshare resort for misclassifying sales employees as independent contractors during a three-year period. The Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County held that Vacation Charters and its owners were jointly and severally liable for … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Affirms Decertification Of California Wage And Hour Case Involving Dock Supervisors

By Greg Mersol on May 6, 2011 Posted in Overtime Claims, Wage and Hour

Thomas Hobbes famously observed that life is short, nasty, and brutish. A recent case from the Ninth Circuit demonstrates that litigation is similar, except that it is not short. In Marlo v UPS.pdf (9th Cir., April 28, 2011), the plaintiff was a UPS employee who held various supervisory positions in connection with the movement of freight. … Continue Reading

Another Court Denies Certification of a Class of Retail Loss Prevention Associates

By Greg Mersol on April 21, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Overtime Claims, Primary Duties Test, Retail

We just wrote about a recent case in which a court refused to certify a class of Wal-Mart loss prevention employees. See Bramble v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Case No. 09-04932 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 11, 2011). In the Bramble case, the court found that the duties of the employees were simply too diverse to justify even conditional … Continue Reading

$10 Million Settlement for Exotic Dancers a Not-So-Exotic Outcome in Wage Class Actions

By Holli Hartman on April 8, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Independent Contractors, Tip-Pooling, Wage and Hour

If you think wage and hour class actions aren’t very sexy, you’re wrong. A class of exotic dancers in California and other states have received preliminary court approval of a $10 million settlement of their class action suit in which they claimed that their adult nightclub employers misclassified them as independent contractors. Trauth v. Spearmint … Continue Reading

Federal Court in New York Denies Class Certification of Independent Contractors’ Misclassification Claim

By Gilbert Brosky on June 25, 2010 Posted in Independent Contractors, Wage and Hour

On June 16, 2010, a federal court in New York held that a group of newspaper delivery drivers who claimed they were wrongfully misclassified as independent contractors under New York law could not pursue their claims as a class action. Edwards v. Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc., No. 09 Civ. 4968 (S.D.N.Y. 6/16/10). In an effort to … Continue Reading