Podcast: Will Supreme Court FLSA Case Limit Class Actions?

Hosted by: David Weisenfeld

The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a Fair Labor Standards Act case involving Tyson Foods with big implications for future employment law class actions. The dispute stems from a $5.8-million overtime pay judgment that has the poultry giant crying "fowl."

This podcast gives listeners a unique look inside the Supreme Court with on-the-scene coverage of Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo, which is a sequel of sorts to the Court's 2011 ruling in Wal-Mart v. Dukes involving 1.5 million former and current Wal-Mart employees. The Court held 5-4 that such a large group of employees did not have enough in common to be joined together as a class.

Podcast: Will Supreme Court FLSA Case Limit Class Actions?

November 24, 2015

Tyson's attorney Carter Phillips was quick to draw a parallel between the two cases. But his adversary, David Frederick, called the cases "completely different," noting that the lawsuit against Tyson involved 3,000 workers at one Iowa pork-processing plant rather than stores across the country. The employees claim they were underpaid for time spent putting on and taking off their protective gear and walking to their work stations.

XpertHR will make it feel as if you are inside the courtroom as we feature the key questions on the justices' minds. Several focused on the employer's failure to keep adequate records. But others expressed concern that there was no way to tell whether all of the workers in this class action had suffered an injury or not.