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Untimely FLSA Collective Action Consent Forms Eviscerate Jury Verdicts: Eighth Circuit
Practical Law Legal Update 8-618-4329 (Approx. 4 pages)
Untimely FLSA Collective Action Consent Forms Eviscerate Jury Verdicts: Eighth Circuit
by Practical Law Labor & Employment
| Published on 31 Aug 2015 • USA (National/Federal) |
In Gomez v. Tyson Foods, Inc. and Acosta v. Tyson Foods, Inc., the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit overturned two large jury verdicts against Tyson Foods, each from a hybrid Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action and Nebraska wage and hour law class action, in part because the named plaintiffs failed to timely file consent forms as is required under Section 216(b) of the FLSA.
On August 26, 2015, in both Gomez v. Tyson Foods, Inc. and Acosta v. Tyson Foods, Inc., the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed Nebraska federal district court decisions and overturned jury verdicts. Tyson Foods employees from meat processing plants had obtained verdicts of nearly $5 million and $19 million respectively in hybrid FLSA collective and class actions under the Nebraska Wage Payment and Collection Act (NWPCA).
In Gomez and Acosta, the Eighth Circuit reversed and entered judgment for Tyson Foods because:
- The named plaintiffs failed to timely file consent forms required under Section 216(b) of the FLSA (29 U.S.C. § 216(b); see also Harkins v. Riverboat Servs., Inc., 385 F.3d 1099, 1101-02 (7th Cir. 2004)).
- The plaintiffs failed to prove an agreement to pay the wages at issue, as required by the NWPCA (Eikmeier v. City of Omaha, 783 N.W.2d 795, 798 (Neb. 2010)).
- The plaintiffs cannot use the NWPCA to enforce rights that they might possess under the FLSA (Freeman v. Cent. States Health and Life Co., 515 N.W.2d 131 (Neb. Ct. App. 1994)).