We’ve previously written about the D.C. Circuit’s decision in Noel Canning v. NLRB, which held that President Obama’s three recess appointments in 2012 to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are unconstitutional. The Solicitor General has just filed a petition for certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to review the D.C. Circuit’s decision. The Obama administration’s… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Employment
Subscribe to Employment RSS FeedSupreme Court Holds that Plaintiff Whose Individual Claims Were Mooted by an Offer of Judgment Lacks Standing to Maintain FLSA Collective Action
Posted in Employment, U.S. Supreme CourtThe Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (“FLSA”) permits an employee to file a “collective action” for damages against an employer individually and on behalf of other “similarly situated” employees who later choose to join the lawsuit. 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). In Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, before any other employee had opted to join… Continue Reading
Second Circuit Reverses Denial Of Individual Arbitration In Title VII Class Action
Posted in Arbitration, EmploymentSince Concepcion, the plaintiffs’ bar has been exhorting courts to recognize exceptions to its holding that courts may not refuse to enforce an arbitration agreement on the ground that it precludes class actions. In the employment context, the plaintiffs’ bar thought that it had a winner with Chen-Oster v. Goldman Sachs, in which a magistrate… Continue Reading
California Supreme Court Grants Review In Employment Arbitration Case
Posted in Arbitration, EmploymentThe California Supreme Court granted review last week in Franco v. Arakelian Enterprises Inc., No. S207660, in which the California Court of Appeal had refused to enforce an agreement to arbitrate on an individual basis in the context of a wage-and-hour class action. For more on Franco, please see our prior post. The California Supreme… Continue Reading
Supreme Court to Decide Fair Labor Standards Act Case
Posted in Employment, U.S. Supreme CourtEmployers frequently face “donning and doffing” collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In these lawsuits, plaintiffs accuse employers of failing to pay employees for off-the-clock time spent doffing and donning uniforms or safety gear at the beginning and end of every shift. Today, the Supreme Court granted review in Sandifer v. United… Continue Reading
Seventh Circuit: A “Shapeless, Free-Wheeling” Trial Plan Is Grounds for Decertifying Class
Posted in Class Certification, Employment, Predominance, Rule 23(b)(2), SuperiorityThe Seventh Circuit’s recent decision in Espenscheid v. DirectSat USA, LLC—authored by Judge Posner—is full of good news for employers and other class-action defendants. The case is a hybrid collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (pdf) and opt-out Rule 23(b)(3) class action asserting state-law wage-and-hour claims. The plaintiffs—a group of home satellite-dish installers who… Continue Reading
Federal District Court Says That Plaintiffs Bringing Representative Claims Under California’s Private Attorney General Act Don’t Have To Seek Class Certification
Posted in Class Certification, EmploymentThe California Supreme Court held in Arias v. Superior Court that a plaintiff may bring a representative action on behalf of himself and other employees to recover civil penalties under California’s Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) without meeting California’s class-certification requirements. The court reasoned that, unlike a class action, where the plaintiff is suing on behalf… Continue Reading
DC Circuit Invalidates NLRB Recess Appointments, Undermining Many NLRB and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Decisions
Posted in EmploymentOn January 25, 2013, the D.C. Circuit held in Noel Canning v. NLRB (pdf) that President Obama’s three recess appointments last year to the NLRB are unconstitutional. The decision casts a shadow over every action taken by the NLRB since those appointments were made on January 4, 2012. Moreover, because Richard Cordray received a recess appointment to… Continue Reading
How Much Discovery From Opt-Ins in FLSA Collective Actions Should Businesses Seek?
Posted in Class Certification, Employment, Motions PracticeA recent federal court decision has addressed the knotty issue of a defendant’s right to discovery in an FLSA collective action from the individuals who opt into the class after it is conditionally certified but before the court decides whether to grant final certification. The case, Scott v. Bimbo Bakeries, USA, Inc. (pdf), No. 10-3154 (E.D…. Continue Reading
Brinker’s Impact on Certification of Meal-Break Class Actions in California
Posted in Class Certification, Employment, PredominanceClass actions alleging that employers’ meal-break policies violate California law have long been a favorite of the plaintiffs’ bar. Earlier this year, however, the California Supreme Court handed employers a victory in Brinker Restaurant Corp v. Superior Court, 53 Cal. 4th 1004 (Cal. 2012), holding that the obligation under the California Labor Code to provide… Continue Reading
California Court Of Appeal Strikes Down Arbitration Agreement In Wage-And-Hour Class Action Despite Concepcion
Posted in Arbitration, EmploymentA California appellate court weighed in last week with another effort to circumvent the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion. In Franco v. Arakelian Enterprises, Inc. (pdf), a panel of the Court of Appeal in Los Angeles affirmed an order refusing to enforce an employee’s agreement to arbitrate disputes with his… Continue Reading
California Court of Appeal Upholds Time Entry Rounding in Wage and Hour Class Action
Posted in EmploymentMany employers, especially in California, are targeted by wage and hour class actions. A recent decision by the California Court of Appeal may provide employers with some much-needed relief (and certainty) about a common practice: rounding time clock entries. Both the U.S. Department of Labor and California’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement permit employers to… Continue Reading