NT Lakis has filed with the U.S. Supreme Court a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) in a case raising the issue of when, if ever, plaintiffs asserting highly individualized overtime claims under state law may proceed as a class in federal court under the procedural rules governing class actions.
EEAC’s merits brief in Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo urges reversal of a ruling by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals which the brief contends disregards the class action rules set out by the High Court in two earlier decisions, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes and Comcast v. Behrend. NT Lakis also prepared and filed EEAC’s brief urging the Supreme Court to accept the case for review.
The brief points out that the Dukes and Comcast rulings clearly preclude class action treatment in cases where there are questions that are not capable of one-stroke resolution as to liability or damages. The brief argues that claims for unpaid wages which typically involve highly individualized liability and damages questions are simply unsuitable for class treatment.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read the full memo at cwc.org. Not a CWC member? Learn more about CWC membership benefits and services here.