Collective Action

Subscribe to Collective Action

Does a plaintiff’s allegation that he was about to join a pending Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective (class) action against his former employer, combined with the employer’s knowledge that he was a potential class member, sufficiently constitute being “about to testify” in an FLSA proceeding, such that the former employer’s actions in prohibiting the…

For 40 years, the majority of federal courts have followed the holding of Lynn’s Food Stores, Inc. v. U.S., 679 F.2d 1350 (11th Cir. 1982), that FLSA claims may be settled only through approval by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) or through a lawsuit filed by the individual, in which a court of…

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2017 decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of Cal., 137 S. Ct. 1773, limiting the scope of a court’s jurisdiction over out-of-state claims, federal courts have grappled with whether the landmark opinion applies to collective actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. §…

In this issue of the Class Action Trends Report, Jackson Lewis attorneys discuss recent developments in arbitration and their impact on employment class actions. These include the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, several impactful U.S. Supreme Court decisions, and the emergence of mass arbitration.

Access the latest…

In the latest court ruling to address personal jurisdiction over out-of-state opt-in plaintiffs in Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions, a federal district court in North Carolina held that it lacked jurisdiction over individuals who did not work for the defendant employer within the state, were not hired in the state, or whose employment with…

For employers, 2021 was a challenging year. The post-election landscape, evolving federal and state law, and the effects of a seemingly endless global pandemic created a difficult business climate. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 were met with stiff resistance — legal and otherwise; still, employers persist in earnest to maintain their operations safely…

In its 2017 decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of Cal., the U.S. Supreme Court held that a state court could not exercise specific personal jurisdiction over nonresident plaintiffs’ claims against a nonresident company. Left unresolved by the Court was whether its decision, handed down in a mass tort action, applied to…

The U.S. House of Representatives on November 19, 2021, passed the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376), ambitious climate protection/social spending legislation that now awaits deliberation in the Senate. Tucked inside the massive bill are numerous provisions of interest to employers. One such provision would amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to…

In our latest issue of the Class Action Trends Report, Jackson Lewis attorneys discuss how employers can undertake Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives without risking class action discrimination suits; wage and hour compliance issues arising from the COVID-19-induced work-from-home surge; and a landmark Fifth Circuit decision rejecting the common two-stage framework for conditional certification…

Virginia employers are at increased risk of class action wage litigation following passage of the Virginia Overtime Wage Act.

“Previously, Virginia had been content to rely on the overtime pay requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA),” note Kristina H. Vaquera and Shaun M. Bennett in a recent Jackson Lewis legal alert…