In a much-anticipated decision in Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., on June 18, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court held 5-4 that pharmaceutical sales representatives are exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standard Act’s outside sales exemption because they “make
Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions
Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions, published by Proskauer Rose LLP, focuses on legal developments and litigation strategies related to class and collective actions. The blog covers topics such as class certification, arbitration agreements, wage and hour claims, employment discrimination, independent contractor misclassification, and regulatory compliance. It analyzes court rulings and their implications for employers and employees, particularly in labor and employment law contexts. The blog also addresses procedural issues in class actions, including predominance and commonality requirements, and explores the impact of recent decisions by courts and regulatory bodies on class and collective litigation.
Latest from Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions - Page 6
Employees Must Live With Their Agreements; California Court of Appeal Affirms Class Action Waivers In Employment Arbitration Contracts
The California Court of Appeal has confirmed that class action waivers are enforceable in California employment arbitration agreements.…
Seventh Circuit Holds Pharmaceutical Sales Reps Administratively Exempt – Broadly Interprets Discretion And Independent Judgment
Applying a broad interpretation to the Administrative exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1), the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held, Tuesday, that pharmaceutical sales representatives (“PSRs”) are exempt from overtime. …
FLSA Consent-To-Join: Will Any Old Thing Do?
The FLSA provides that “[n]o employee shall be a party plaintiff” to a collective action “unless he gives his consent in writing to become such a party and such consent is filed in the court in which such action is…
Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument On Whether Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives Are Exempt From Overtime
Yesterday, in a packed courtroom, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., No. 11-204 (on appeal from the Ninth Circuit) to determine whether the pharmaceutical industry has been properly classifying its sales representatives…
Third Circuit Signals End To “Hybrid” Class Action Debate
In February 2011, we previously posted about two decisions from Hon. John E. Jones III, of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, who ruled that FLSA collective actions are inherently incompatible with state law wage and hour claims when brought in…
FLSA Decertification: District Courts Write Largely On A Blank Slate
By Jackie Dorn
Without any U.S. Supreme Court guidance, and little to none from the Circuit Courts, the trial courts facing FLSA decertification motions are making up their rulings mostly from scratch, and the results are all over the map. Although courts facing…
Nibbling Away at Concepcion
In AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. __, 131 S. Ct. 1740 (2011), the Supreme Court upheld a waiver of class arbitration in a consumer contract. Four recent moves have begun the process of responding to and exploring the boundaries…
Losing the Battle But Winning the War
The Tenth Circuit ruled on Wednesday in Maestas v. Day & Zimmerman LLC (pdf) that an employee’s “primary duty” — which is the relevant inquiry in determining whether an employee is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act…
Decapitating Class Actions
One potential early approach to a class action is to “decapitate” it — to knock out the claims of the class representative(s), often by finding some deficiency in their individual claim that supports a motion to dismiss or for summary…