Atlanta Employment Attorneys Blog
Recently, a Greene County employer found itself facing not one but two federal lawsuits related to its pay practices and overtime compensation. The pair of filings illustrates how misclassifying workers can have numerous, complex impacts, both on the employer being sued and on employees who must decide whether to join an existing Fair Labor Standards Act collective action or pursue a separate case. When making decisions as an employee about opting in or out, or as an employer defending these lawsuits, it is wise to consult with a knowledgeable Atlanta wage and hour lawyer who can offer essential advice about how best to proceed.
The Greensboro employer, M.S.G., was a project management consulting company that employed several engineers. Several of those engineers believed that the employer had underpaid them. Specifically, the engineers contended in a federal complaint that the employer had illegally misclassified them as overtime-exempt when, in fact, they were non-exempt and should have received time-and-a-half compensation for their overtime hours, whereas they actually received only their regular pay for those hours.
One of those Georgia engineers, R.S., sued in 2023. In June 2024, the federal District Court conditionally certified the case as an FLSA collective action.
Opting Options: Class Actions versus Collective Actions
While FLSA collective actions have some notable procedural differences from federal class actions, the two are also similar in many ways. One crucial distinction is who the lawsuit covers. In a class action case, all members of the group are deemed part of the “class” and barred from pursuing their own separate cases unless they actively “opt out.” FLSA collective actions are the opposite. Potential members of the collective are only considered to be members — and benefit from the judgment or settlement reached in the case — if they actively elect to “opt in.”
Sometimes, even with an active collective action in place, it may make sense for an individual employee not to opt in but instead to set out on his own. J.F. was one of those engineers. He worked for the Greensboro company on a project in Kentucky. Specifically, J.F. believed he had a claim under Kentucky’s wage and hour law.
Overlapping Lawsuits and the ‘First-Filed’ Rule
It is crucial to understand when you can — and cannot — undertake a parallel lawsuit based on facts shared with an already existing lawsuit. A key in this regard is the “first-filed rule,” which says that the court that received a complaint first should be the venue where the matter is litigated. In J.F.’s situation, however, he filed his lawsuit in the same place — the Middle District of Georgia — as R.S. had. When both plaintiffs file in the same district, the first-filed rule does not apply.
Ultimately, despite the two cases sharing many factual commonalities regarding M.S.G.’s pay practices, J.F. was allowed to maintain his separate case.
Cases like these two illustrate how FLSA issues can be complicated, and not just in factual ways. An employee may have to make numerous significant and complex decisions, such as deciding whether to opt into another employee’s FLSA collective action and, if not, whether to proceed individually or as part of a new class. These choices involve an in-depth analysis of the facts, the law, and the rules of procedure. They require a skilled legal advocate who possesses expertise in all of these analytical areas.
When you have a wage and hour matter that presents potential class action or collective action issues, count on the Atlanta wage and hour attorneys at the law firm of Parks, Chesin & Walbert. Our team of attorneys has the knowledge and experience necessary to provide you with advice that is highly insightful and profoundly reliable, in addition to diligent advocacy to protect your rights. Contact us through this website or at 404-873-8048 to schedule a consultation today.