Sixth Circuit Decision May Help Employers Facing FLSA Collective Actions

Employers may finally catch a break from nation-wide and multi-state Fair Labor Standards Act collective litigation. The FLSA permits employees to bring claims individually, or on behalf of similarly situated individuals in a collective action, similar to a class action. These claims can range from failure to pay minimum wages to improper procedures for meal and rest breaks - and these violations add up quickly, making them one of the most expensive types of lawsuits an employer can face. In 2017, however, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of Cal., 137 S.Ct.1773 (2017), stating that due process did not permit the exercise of personal specific jurisdiction over nonresident consumers' claims in the mass tort context. Since the Bristol-Myers decision, district courts have been split on whether that decision limits a court's exercise of personal specific jurisdiction in FLSA actions to solely those claims