Organizations Mentioned:Eli Lilly & Co | Eli Lilly and Co. | Jones Day, LLP | Lichten & Liss-Riordan | Lilly USA, LLC
“The watchword here is flexibility, with respect for the principles outlined in Hoffmann-La Roche and the remedial goals of the FLSA and ADEA.”
In a case involving notice following conditional certification of a collective action under the ADEA, the Seventh Circuit has announced a “framework” for assessing the propriety of notice to a proposed FLSA—or ADEA—collective. To secure notice, a plaintiff must first make a threshold showing that there is a material factual dispute as to whether the proposed collective is similarly situated. Thereafter, if the district court is persuaded that the evidence necessary to resolve a similarity dispute is likely in the hands of yet-to-be-noticed plaintiffs, it may issue notice to the proposed collective while postponing the final determination as to whether plaintiffs are similarly situated until plaintiffs move for certification after opt-in and discovery are complete. Alternatively, if the court is confident that a similarity dispute can be resolved by a preponderance of the evidence before notice, it may authorize limited and expedited discovery to make this determination and tailor, or deny, notice accordingly. Judge Hamilton concurred in part and concurred in the judgment (Richards v. Eli Lilly & Co., No. 24-2574 (7th Cir. Aug. 5, 2025)).
Collective actions under FLSA and ADEA. To ensure broad and robust...
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