"Similarly Situated" Seriously Scrutinized By Southern District

Seyfarth Synopsis: A judge in the Southern District of New York held that FLSA off-the-clock claims could not proceed collectively because the employer's policy enforcement and approval of overtime compensation varied by supervisor.

In Lynch v. City of New York, Judge Katherine Forrest rejected an attempt to prosecute a single collective action for off-the-clock claims of employees in different units reporting to different supervisors. Ordering the case decertified, she held that the plaintiffs' own testimony showed "critical differences in what supervisors told their employees about overtime."

A group of five representative plaintiffs–current and former administrative assistants–asserted FLSA claims against the New York City Department of Homeless Services. The group had been granted conditional certification of a FLSA collective action, which requires only a modest showing that the employees were similarly situated with respect to alleged FLSA violations. A