Personal Jurisdiction Requirements In FLSA Collective Actions

December 17, 2019  |  New York Law Journal

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides a mechanism for employees to join together and pursue a nationwide collective action against their employer. Southern District Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses’ recent decision in Pettanato v. Beacon Health Options addressed an unsettled jurisdictional issue in connection with such actions: If the court lacks general personal jurisdiction over the employer, does each individual employee have to establish that the court has specific personal jurisdiction with respect to his or her claim? Judge Moses concluded that they do. In this article, we analyze Judge Moses’ decision, which is a reminder of the rigor with which courts enforce personal jurisdiction requirements.

Personal Jurisdiction Requirements In FLSA Collective Actions (pdf | 476.79 KB)