In a January ruling, the US Supreme Court held that there is no heightened burden of proof in Fair Labor Standards Act class actions. The decision overturned a Fourth Circuit finding that was based on a higher standard.
Bracewell’s Brian Patterson told Law360 that while employers in the Fourth Circuit that had been applying the higher standard will most feel the decision’s impact, “multi-state employers who were essentially playing by different rulebooks depending on which federal court they ended up in” will also feel it.
“For companies with operations spanning multiple circuits, this eliminates uncertainty around litigation risk by creating one clear standard everywhere,” Patterson said. “You can now apply consistent classification standards across your entire workforce and implement uniform policies nationwide, rather than having to factor in circuit-specific litigation risks when making decisions for employees in different regions.”
