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22-396
Supreme Court
3710 Fair Labor Standards Act
Class Action
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to weigh whether collective actions can include wage and hour claims arising in a different state than the case forum, teeing up a consequential fight over the boundaries of the Fair Labor Standards Act's collective action mechanism.
FedEx drivers urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their appeal asking whether out-of-state plaintiffs can opt into a federal labor law collective action, saying the high court needed to step in to prevent circuit courts from imposing conflicting standards.
A U.S. Supreme Court precedent makes it clear that only workers from the state where a suit arose can join a collective, FedEx said, telling the justices that a Third Circuit ruling limiting who could be part of an overtime lawsuit should stay.
One year after the First Circuit said workers outside a state where a Fair Labor Standards Act collective action is being litigated can opt in, a circuit split has widened and attorneys are again seeking clarity from the U.S. Supreme Court, which previously avoided the matter. Here, Law360 explores the issue.