In Sandoz v. Cingular Wireless, the Fifth Circuit held that if an employee files a timely motion for certification of a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) that motion relates back to the date the employee filed the initial complaint and prevents an employer from mooting an attempted FLSA collective action by paying the representative employee in full.  This ruling is significant because it demonstrates that while an offer of judgment can moot a FLSA collective action, the relation back principle prevents employers from using Rule 68 as a tool to “pick off” representative employees and avoid ever having to face collective actions.  Thus, finding that the mootness of Ms. Sandoz’s FLSA claim rests on whether she timely filed a motion to certify her collective action, the Fifth Circuit remanded the case to the district court for a consideration of the timeliness and, if necessary, the merits of Ms. Sandoz’s motion to certify. 

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 at 9:53 am and is filed under Fair Labor Standards Act. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.