Wage and Hour Litigation: Can Class Actions And Collective Actions Coexist?
Both the Third and the Seventh Circuits are set to address the issue of whether collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act are compatible with class actions under state wage and hour laws. In the Third Circuit, briefing is underway in Parker v. NutriSystem, Inc., No. 09-3545. And argument is set in the Seventh Circuit for April 2, 2010 in Ervin v. OS Restaurant Servs., Inc., No. 09-3029. Both courts will address what some have called the “inherent incompatibility” of FLSA collective actions and state law wage and hour class actions that are pursued in the same case.
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