Supreme Court Vacates $7.7 Million Wage and Hour Judgment in Light of Dukes

By Greg Mersol on October 4, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour

Want to read tea leaves? One of the questions arising immediately in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. __, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), was whether its holdings would apply to cases under the FLSA. Defendants can point to much of the Dukes Court’s language, but plaintiffs, and some courts, … Continue Reading

Another Court Finds Rule 23 State Law Class Actions Incompatible With FLSA Collective Actions

By Greg Mersol on July 1, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Overtime Claims, Rule 23, Wage and Hour

We’ve written several times this year about the wide split in authority regarding whether a plaintiff in a wage and hour case may bring both a collective action under the FLSA and a Rule 23 class action with respect to claimed parallel violations of state law. Apart from concerns over the management of simultaneous “opt-in” … 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