Court Limits Proposed Class in Automatic Meal-Break Deduction Case Against Hospital

The court held that the plaintiffs' presentation of sworn affidavits, memoranda of understanding, payroll records, internal hospital correspondence, and admissions by the hospital was sufficient to meet their burden in order for the court to conditionally certify an FLSA class at the initial "notice" stage. However, the court also held that the plaintiffs "reached too far" with their proposed class definition, noting that the hospital "compensates for overtime under various schemes." As such, the court narrowed the class to include only those employees who signed the MOU and who were either: (i) not paid for all time worked; or (ii) were not paid overtime wages when they worked over 8 hours per day, over the course of an 80 hour, 14 day pay period.

This entry was written by Benson E. Pope.

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