By Matthew J. Gagnon, Christopher DeGroff, and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.
As the clock ticked down on the EEOC’s fiscal year (which ended on September 30), we are struck once again by the eerily consistent trend in the agency’s federal court filing trends. Employers around the country are seemingly trapped in the “Groundhog’s-day-like” loop that occurs each September.
Continue Reading Groundhog Day In September – Another Repeat Of The EEOC Fiscal Year-End Lawsuit Filing Frenzy
Rule 23 governs class action procedure in federal courts, and interpretation of that rule by the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts drives risks and liabilities that employers face in high-stakes litigation. Being on the receiving end of a workplace class action can have dire consequences for a business. Careers of key company officials
Continue Reading Employers Beware: Possible Changes May Be Coming To Class Action Rules
By Gerald L. Maatman Jr. and Christina M. Janice
In an order recently issued in EEOC v J.R. Baker Farms, LLC, et al., Case No. 7:14-CV-136 (M.D. Ga. Sept. 9, 2015), Senior Judge Hugh Lawson of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia compelled the EEOC to produce in discovery anecdotal claims information for each known
Continue Reading Court Rejects The EEOC’s Request For A Free Pass From Discovery In Pattern Or Practice Lawsuit
By Pamela Q. Devata and Courtney S. Stieber
Defendants can add a new decision to their arsenal for defending against multiple proposed class actions on the same claims. The Eleventh Circuit recently issued a decision in Ewing Industries Corporation v. Bob Wines Nursery, Inc., et al., No. 14-13842 (11th Cir. Aug. 3, 2015), holding that a proposed class action
Continue Reading Too Little, Too Late: Eleventh Circuit Rejects Multiple Bites At The Apple For Class Claims
By Gerald L. Maatman Jr. and Howard M. Wexler
In a case we previously blogged about here where the Court refused to grant Plaintiffs’ request for equitable tolling on their claims under the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”), Magistrate Judge Michael Dolinger recently issued a decision granting Plaintiffs’ motion for conditional certification of a collective action under the EPA to cover
Continue Reading Doing the “Two Step”: Court Grants Stage One Conditional Certification Of EPA Collective Action
By Christopher M. Cascino and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.
In EEOC v. Vicksburg Healthcare LLC, et al., Case No. 13-CV-895 (S.D. Miss. Aug. 27, 2015), a case we have blogged about previously here and here, Judge Keith Starrett of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi recently rejected the EEOC’s lawsuit. He entered summary
Continue Reading Court Finds Against EEOC And Holds Charging Party Who Represented Herself As Being “Totally Disabled” Was Not Qualified To Perform Her Job
