4th Circuit says FLSA class actions require specifics, not high-level allegations

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit (which has jurisdiction over federal courts in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia) vacated a district court’s order certifying a Rule 23 class in a suit filed by brewery workers seeking pay for pre- and post-shift activities. The decision is a useful reminder that class certification shouldn’t rest on general allegations of a common pay practice when liability turns on what individual employees actually did, where they did it, and when.

Off-the-clock claims

Anheuser-Busch employs approximately 400 hourly workers at its Williamsburg, Virginia, location who work in one of five functional departments. Employees swipe a badge and enter the brewery’s various facilities through a turnstile. The swipe data is stored in the company’s electronic timekeeping system, but the company doesn’t compensate employees according to the swipe data. Rather, it pays employees based on scheduled shift hours.

Two employees alleged they were required to perform tasks outside their scheduled shifts, including donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE), complying with temperature checks and other COVID-era protocols, participating in shift handoff meetings, and securing or putting away tools. They filed suit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Virginia wage laws seeking to represent similarly situated workers at the Williamsburg location.

Class certification vacated