The dissent in today’s Supreme Court decision on class certification, Comcast Corp. v. Behrends (PDF copy here), argues that “the decision should not be read to require, as a prerequisite to certification, that damages attributable to a classwide injury be measurable on a class-wide basis.” The dissenters may be the only ones who think so, though.
March 2013
Second Circuit Mandates Arbitration For Title VII Class Action
By Mark W. Batten on
The editors wanted to share this analysis, by Proskauer’s Employment Litigation and Arbitration Group, of the Second Circuit’s interesting recent decision requiring a Title VII plaintiff, even in a class action, to arbitrate her claims:
Fourth Circuit Applies Dukes To A Wage And Hour Matter
By Mark W. Batten on
Since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), plaintiffs in wage and hour cases have urged courts to ignore the decision, arguing that it only applies to discrimination cases, not to wage and hour matters. Surprisingly, considering that the Court was interpreting Rule 23, which applies in every case regardless of subject matter, that argument had found some traction in some district courts. The analysis often was thin and dismissive.
Second Circuit Requires Specificity In FLSA Pleading
By Joshua F. Alloy on
In Lundy v. Catholic Health System of Long Island Inc., Plaintiffs – a respiratory therapist and two nurses – sued on behalf of a putative class of similarly situated employees and alleged that the Catholic Health System of Long Island, Inc. (a collection of hospitals and healthcare providers) failed to compensate them for time worked during meal breaks, before and after scheduled shifts, and during required training sessions, which they alleged brought them over the 40 hour overtime threshold on occasion. They sought, among other things, overtime and “gap-time” pay (i.e., unpaid hours worked below the 40-hour overtime threshold).
Wang v. Chinese Daily News: the Ninth Circuit Takes A Step
By Mark W. Batten on
We’ve been watching the stuttering progress of Wang v. Chinese Daily News for some time. The plaintiffs brought a wide range of claims, alleging denial of overtime, meal breaks, wage statements, and timely pay after termination, under the FLSA and California law. The district court certified the class and a collective action, and the case was tried; in September 2010, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the certification decision.