Sellers v. Keller Unlimited LLC
Sellers v. Keller Unlimited LLC
Opinion of the Court
Before the Court is Defendant's motion to decertify the conditionally certified class. (Dkt. No. 49.) For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' motion is denied.
*633I. Background
Defendant Mark Keller is the sole member of Defendant Keller Unlimited, LLC, which owns and operates two restaurant-sports bars-Two Keys Public House in Summerville, South Carolina and Two Keys Tavern in Ladson, South Carolina-at which Plaintiffs were employed as bartenders. (Dkt. No. 23-1 at 1.) Named Plaintiff Ryan Sellers, with the conditionally certified class of ten opt-in plaintiffs, alleges that Defendants violated the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"),
II. Legal Standard
The FLSA allows that a collective action for unpaid minimum wages may be maintained "by any one or more employees for and in behalf of himself or themselves and other employees similarly situated."
At this optional "decertification stage," the district court applies a heightened fact-specific standard to the "similarly situated" analysis. Steinberg v. TQ Logistics, Inc. , No. 0:10-cv-2507-JFA,
In the decertification context, "similarly situated" means " 'similarly situated with respect to the legal and, to a lesser extent, the factual issues to be determined.' " Pelczynski ,
III. Discussion
A. Plaintiffs Are Not Situated in Disparate Factual or Employment Settings.
"The first factor of the decertification analysis involves an assessment of *634whether Plaintiffs have provided evidence of a company-wide policy which may violate the FLSA, as well as an assessment of Plaintiffs' job duties, geographic location, supervision, and salary." Regan v. City of Charleston , 2:13-cv-3046-PMD,
B. Defendants' Defenses Are Not Sufficiently Individualized to Each Plaintiff.
Defendants contend that they would advance individualized defenses against each Plaintiff because Ryan Sellers did not accurately report her income to the Internal Revenue Service and, therefore, she cannot demonstrate that Defendants' practice of claiming a tip credit while deducting bar shortages from paychecks lowered her income below the minimum wage. This argument is unavailing because the undisputed record evidence that Defendants both claim a tip credit and deduct bar shortages from bartenders' paychecks indicates a FLSA violation,
C. Fairness and Procedural Considerations Warrant Continued Certification.
Defendants offer no argument as to any fairness or procedural consideration of certification, such as to contend that certification is unduly prejudicial or judicially inefficient. "The Court has broad discretion in determining whether the case should continue as a collective action after discovery." Randolph v. PowerComm Constr., Inc. ,
Each of these factors indicates that Plaintiffs are sufficiently similar with respect to the legal issues to be determined and, as a result, that decertification is not warranted.
IV. Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' motion to decertify the conditionally certified class (Dkt. No. 49) is DENIED.
AND IT IS SO ORDERED.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Ryan SELLERS, on Behalf of Herself and All Others Similarly Situated v. KELLER UNLIMITED LLC, dba Two Keys Tavern 57 Limited LLC, dba Two Keys Public House and Mark Keller, individually
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published