One of the difficulties of class action litigation that continues to vex employers is the frequent inability to obtain meaningful review of certification decisions. Because, the reasoning goes, certification orders are...more
It is no secret that California is a desired and favorable forum for class action litigation. It is therefore not surprising that plaintiffs might try to take advantage of that forum even when the connection between...more
Yogi Berra often has been quoted for the phrase “It ain’t over till it’s over,” and Lenny Kravitz even made a hit song of it in 1991. While no one will likely ever make a popular song out of Rule 23, the phrase applies just...more
A recent case reflects that some courts will look not only to the presence or absence of conflicts or litigation misconduct but also to the plaintiffs’ counsel’s experience in other class action cases.
In Goers v. L.A....more
We’re all familiar with the basic requirements of Rule 23(a), with the focus most frequently on the issues of commonality and typicality under Rules 23(a)(2) and (3). Numerosity under Rule 23(a)(1) can on occasion be an issue...more
Litigation Over Interns Dries Up Internship Opportunities -
The natural and probable consequence of litigation over unpaid internships was that such opportunities would disappear because the risk of litigation for even...more
4/6/2016
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FRCP 23 ,
Gawker ,
Minimum Wage ,
Social Media ,
Summary Judgment ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
Much is being reported in the media about the decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California certifying a class of drivers for the Uber ride service who contended that they were...more
9/3/2015
/ AT&T Mobility ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Class Certification ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Misclassification ,
Sharing Economy ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
It’s hard enough to predict what the Supreme Court will do on a given case even after it has been briefed and oral argument has been heard. It’s even harder when all we have is the decision accepting certiorari, but this one...more
6/11/2015
/ Calculation of Damages ,
Certiorari ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Collective Actions ,
Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
FRCP 23(b)(3) ,
SCOTUS ,
Tyson Foods ,
Tyson Foods v Bouaphakeo ,
Wage and Hour
Three years ago, the Supreme Court found in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541, 2551-52 (2011) that courts “frequently” will need to look to the merits in determining whether certification is appropriate,...more
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...more
Given the rich diversity and array of religions, and the First Amendment prohibitions both on the establishment of religion and impeding the free exercise of religion, the appointment and promotion of chaplains in the...more
Relatively few FLSA cases are certified and then reach a court of appeals on the merits, but that recently happened before the Eight Circuit. In Petroski v. H&R Block Enterprises, LLC, Case No. 13-2076 (8th Cir. May 2, 2014),...more
The most famous, if fictional, San Francisco police Inspector was, of course, Inspector Harry Callahan of the Dirty Harry succession of Clint Eastwood films. The first Dirty Harry movie came out in 1971when its star, known...more
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently issued a case involving the straight-forward application of the Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011),...more
In a number of cases, the plaintiffs’ strategy in collective active litigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act may fall into a familiar pattern: file the case, do minimal discovery, move for conditional certification under...more
Despite blockbuster cases like Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), and Brinker Rest. Corp. v. Superior Court, 273 P.3d 513, 527 (Cal. 2012), California remains a hotbed of employment class litigation as a...more
This seems to be the month for class action cases presenting unusual issues in combination. Last week we wrote about a class action disparate impact claim of disability discrimination against the obese in which the court...more
What is the right compensation for a particular job? That’s the question virtually every employer must face. Pay too little, and the employer may not be able to fill a position or must settle for less than the best...more
One can only imagine the outcome the plaintiffs' attorneys were anticipating: a case against the financial industry, involving non-exempt employees subject to an auto-deduct policy for meal periods, in the Southern District...more
While the now familiar two-step process for determining certification of FLSA collective actions may have been introduced based on valid concerns, it is increasingly vexing for employers in cases where they have either done...more
A Virginia District Court has denied conditional certification of a class of chauffeurs in claims for unpaid overtime and has also recognized the application of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), to the...more
Despite its significant rulings in other areas, we don’t have any blockbuster Supreme Court opinions to discuss this week as it has already decided all of class action before it. Since we don’t have a Dukes, Concepcion,...more
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again,” or so the adage goes. A recent case suggests that may not always be the right strategy or, more apropos to this blog, that off-the-clock cases make poor fodder for class...more
Just two years ago, a California case declining certification of an action would have been cause for comment. But since then, in 2011 the United States Supreme Court decided Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541...more
In the vast majority of discrimination cases, there is little dispute over whether the plaintiff is actually in a protected group. For example, in sex discrimination cases, for the most part, they are either male or female;...more