In Perez v. City of New York, the City moved for summary judgment against a variety of FLSA claims advanced by a collective of Associate Urban Park Rangers related to unpaid wages. See No. 12-CIV-4914 (PAE) (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 27, 2017). The Court granted the motion in part and denied it in part ruling on a plethora of issues including the applicable statute of limitations, allegations of willfulness, and applicable tolling. However, one aspect – its denial of summary judgment as to overtime claims where plaintiffs failed to utilize the City’s overtime reporting mechanisms – merits particular attention.…

In Cabrera v. Stephens, the Eastern District of New York conditionally certified an FLSA collective of 7-Eleven workers who alleged that their time records were manipulated and that they were not appropriately paid for all hours worked. See No. 16-CV-3234 (ADS) (SIL) (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2017). The motion for conditional certification was accompanied by a motion to strike declarations submitted by the employer of putative class/collective members who contended that they had been appropriately paid for all hours worked. The plaintiffs alleged they had been obtained under coercive circumstances. The motion provided the Court with an opportunity to outline the…

In Ramirez-Marin v. JD Classic Builders Corp., the Court addressed a procedurally esoteric question: can a named-plaintiff assert state law claims on behalf of persons who filed “opt-in consents” to participate in the FLSA portion of an action? The Court confirmed that opt-in plaintiffs, upon filing a consent, are deemed to assert all claims contained in the action. See No. 16-CV-5584 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2017).…

In Lopes v. Heso, Inc., the Eastern District of New York addressed four discrete legal issues related to the dissemination of a notice to putative members of a conditionally certified collective. See No. 16-CV-6796 (MKB) (RML). Specifically, at the request of the parties, the Court addressed: (i) whether the notice should cover a three- or six-year period; (ii) the proper date for calculating the look back period; (iii) whether the employer would be required to post a copy of the notice in the workplace; and (iv) whether a reminder notice would be sent to the original recipients. The Court took…

In Lawtone-Bowles v. City of New York, the Southern District of New York granted in part, and denied in part, a Rule 12(b) motion to dismiss overtime claims advanced under the FLSA and New York Labor Law (“NYLL”). See No. 16-CV-4240 (AJN) (Sept. 22, 2017). The plaintiffs worked for the Department of Homeless Services as Motor Vehicle Operators responsible for transporting homeless persons to temporary housing placements, train stations, and airports. The plaintiffs were generally scheduled for give shifts of eight hours and thirty minutes each week, with thirty minutes automatically deducted for uncompensated meal periods each day. They contended…

In Chen v. Kyote Sushi, Inc., the Court denied a motion for conditional certification of an FLSA collective in favor of compelling arbitration on an individual basis. See No. 15-CV-7398 (DLI) (JO) (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 22, 2017). The Chen plaintiffs alleged a variety of claims for unpaid wages and contended that they should be permitted to pursue their claims in court despite each having executed arbitration agreements that required arbitration of a variety of claims, including those arising under the FLSA, on an individual basis. The plaintiffs alleged that the arbitration agreements were invalid insofar as they were individually called into…

In Roseman v. Bloomberg L.P., the Southern District of New York granted a Rule 23 motion for class certification of the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”) overtime claims brought by a class of Analytics Representative. See No. 14-CV-2657 (DLC) (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 21, 2017). Analytics Representatives were responsible for assisting users of Bloomberg Terminals, a computer software system which allows clients to access and analyze financial data. They contended that their duties were ministerial in nature and did not meet the requirements for the administrative exemption from overtime under the NYLL.…

In Landaverde v. Dave Murray Construction & Design, Inc., the Court granted summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs imposing individual liability on the owner of the defendant company under the FLSA. See 15-CV-5379 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 11, 2017). The Court granted liability as against the individual owner of the company and provided a helpful summary of the current state of the law.…

In Williams v. The Bethel Springvale Nursing Home, the Court denied a motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of overtime claims under the FLSA and denied a contemporaneous motion for decertification of a collective. See 14-CIV-9383 (NSR) (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 12, 2017).…

In Huertero-Morales v. Raguboy Corp., the Southern District denied a motion for conditional certification of a collective action consisting of various restaurant workers paid on an hourly basis. See No. 17-CIV-2429 (JCF) (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 12, 2017). The plaintiff alleged that he and other workers were required to work off-the-clock and that they participated in an invalid “tip pool” because a manager received a portion of the tips. The Court found that the plaintiff’s motion was plagued by “general and conclusory allegations.”…

In McEarchen v. Urban Outfitters, Inc., the Hon. Roslynn Mauskopf confirmed a report and recommendation from the Hon. James Orenstein decertifying a conditionally certified FLSA collective of Assistant Managers who claimed that they had been misclassified as exempt. See 13-CV-3569 (RRM) (JO) (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 6, 2017). The plaintiffs did not file any objections to the Magistrate Judge’s ruling in exchange for an agreement from Urban Outfitters to consent to a 60-day tolling period for the claims of the dismissed opt-in plaintiffs.…

In Pineda v. Frisolino, Inc. and Peter Migliorini, the Court issued an opinion and order setting forth its conclusions of law following a four-day bench trial into claims of unpaid wages under the FLSA and NYLL. See 15-CIV-3774 (GBD) (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 29, 2017). Of particular note was the Court’s determination that the restaurant’s owner qualified as an “employer” under the FLSA and was thus jointly and severally responsible for the damages awarded to the plaintiffs.…

In Benavides v. Serenity Spa NY, Inc., the Court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification of their minimum wage and overtime claims under the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”). See No. 15-CV-9189 (JLC) (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 1, 2017). In so doing, the Court declined to consider the declarations of five employees submitted by the employer in opposition to the motion. The Court’s ruling highlights the need for employers to exercise care in developing an evidentiary record to oppose class certification.…