Where the defendant in a putative class action under the Fair Labor Standards Act has moved to strike pre-certification consents, that motion should be denied because conditional certification in an FLSA action is not a prerequisite to the filing of consents.
“Plaintiffs Karen Morales Posada, Amanda Sarmento Ferreira Guimares, Williana Rocha, and Sara Barrientos allege that Defendant Cultural Care, Inc. (‘Cultural Care’) has violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (‘FLSA’), 29 U.S.C. §201 et seq., by failing to pay minimum wages and overtime pay and by failing to provide certain disclosures. Sec. Amend. Compl. (‘SAC’), Counts XII-XIII [Doc. No. 43]. Plaintiffs assert these claims on their own behalf and on behalf of similarly situated individuals ‘who were sponsored by Cultural Care and worked as J-1 visa au pairs during any portion of the period commencing three years prior to the filing of this action through the entry of final judgment in this action.’ …
“Cultural Care argues that consents gathered prior to court-approved notice were prematurely solicited, that they omitted material information routinely required in court-ordered FLSA collective action notices, and that they should be stricken. … The statute itself, however, requires no certification or court permission before individuals may participate. Nor did the Court in Hoffmann-La Roche [Inc. v. Sperling, 493 U.S. 165 (1989)] mandate that conditional certification occur before individuals could join the action by...
The United States alleges that from September 2015 through December 2020, St. Michael’s Eye & Laser Institute (St. Michael’s) and Dr. Michaelos caused the submission of false claims for transc...