Wage & Hour Class and Collective Action Review — 2023 - Report - Page 8
affecting only individual members and a class action is superior to other available
methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy.
Similarly-Situated – Under 29 U.S.C. § 216, employees may bring suit on behalf of
themselves and others who are similarly-situated. The standard is not clearly defined in
the statute and many courts have found that, if plaintiffs make a preliminary showing
that they are similarly situated to those they seek to represent, conditional certification is
appropriate. A finding in this regard is usually not based on the merits of the claims.
Superiority – The Rule 23(b)(3) requirement that a class action can be permitted only if
class resolution is the superior method of adjudicating the claims.
Typicality – The plaintiffs’ claims and defenses must be typical to those of proposed
class members’ claims. This is required by Rule 23(a)(3).
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, et al., 564 U.S. 338 (2011) – Wal-Mart is the U.S.
Supreme Court ruling that tightened the commonality requirement of Rule 23(a)(2) and
held that judges must conduct a “rigorous analysis” to determine whether there is a
“common” contention central to the validity of the claims that is “capable of class-wide
resolution.”
DM39529965.1
© Duane Morris LLP 2023
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Wage & Hour Class And Collective Action Review – 2023
