FLSA Collective Action Conditional Certification and Decertification Strategies

This CLE course will provide employment counsel with guidance for pursuing or opposing conditional certification or decertification motions in collective actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The panel will discuss the standards courts apply when ruling on conditional certification or decertification by highlighting recent decisions in the circuit courts, the unique issues related to pursuing certification or decertification motions, and how to address hybrid state law cases.

Wage and hour collective actions under the FLSA continue to plague employers. Obtaining conditional certification in FLSA collective actions is often simpler than obtaining Rule 23 class certification and therefore often provides plaintiffs' counsel opportunity to gain leverage earlier in the case with lower investment.

Employers' counsel strive to defeat conditional certification in FLSA collective actions to avoid the time and expense of discovery, settlement negotiations, and trial. When they are unsuccessful in opposing conditional certification, employers' counsel often pursue motions for decertification.

An increasing number of wage and hour lawsuits are filed as hybrid cases with both FLSA collective claims and state law wage and hour class claims. Frequently, plaintiffs' counsel use conditional certification as an avenue to obtain opt-ins to aid in the discovery process and to bolster their Rule 23 claims.

Listen as our expert panel discusses recent case law trends and strategies regarding pursuing or opposing conditional certification and decertification in FLSA collective actions.