This week, one of Cozen's clients, Genesis Healthcare, argued before the Supreme Court that employees who are fully compensated for a wage and hour claim should have no right to proceed with a collective action. This case is an important one as it could serve as a vehicle for the Supreme Court to rein in the out of control wage and hour litigation clogging federal courts.
The basic facts are that an employee sued her employer for alleged unpaid work time during lunch breaks. The employer offered to fully compensate the employee for what she claimed she was owed, but the employee refused to accept the payment, choosing instead to pursue a collective action. Justice Breyer best summed up the question facing the court:
"How does that differ from an employee who says — he is annoyed for a variety of reasons at the employer and he sues the employer for his pay, for his pay for the month of October. The employer says: He got his pay; I — I sent him the check; I mean, he gets it every month. And he says: Yes, but I didn't cash the check."
Although it is impossible to predict what the Supreme Court might do in this case, the oral arguments seemed to suggest that several Justices are considering taking the common sense view that a court should not proceed with a lawsuit if the plaintiff has been made whole for her losses, and that the courts should not be in the business of stirring up collective action lawsuits. Such a ruling would be beneficial to employers as it would allow an opportunity to settle cases before other employees are solicited to join, and settlement becomes prohibitively expensive.
A decision from the Supreme Court is expected sometime in the Spring.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
