Norena-Giraldo v. Inglese Worldwide Corporation

In this case the court was faced with the issue of what exactly the legal status Opt-in Plaintiffs are, with respect to the named-Plaintiff, in a case that has not been certified as a collective action.  Initially, the court had denied Plaintiff’s Motion for a Final Default Judgment as to Opt-in Plaintiffs, while entering same as to the named-Plaintiff only.  However, the court invited reconsideration of the issue of the Opt-in Plaintiffs’ status.  Upon reconsideration, the court agreed that the Opt-in Plaintiffs shared the same legal status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as the named Plaintiff and thus, amended its prior order and entered judgment (as to liability) on behalf of the Opt-in Plaintiffs as well.

Noting that the issue was not so much whether the Opt-ins were party Plaintiffs, but rather what “sum certain” such Opt-in Plaintiffs were entitled to, the court, upon reconsideration set the case for a hearing to determine the amounts of same, recognizing that such Opt-in Plaintiffs essentially stood in the same shoes as the named-Plaintiff.

Click Norena-Giraldo v. Inglese Worldwide Corporation, to read the entire opinion.