Genesis Healthcare Corporation, et al., Petitioners v. Laura Symczyk (569 U.S. 66)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 16, 2013 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 569 U.S. 66 · 133 S. Ct. 1523
- Decided
- April 16, 2013
- Term
- October Term 2012
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Thomas
- Issue area
- Unions
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice THOMAS delivered the opinion of the Court. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., provides that an employee may bring an action to recover damages for specified violations of the Act on behalf of himself and other " similarly situated" employees. We granted certiorari to resolve whether such a case is justiciable when the lone plaintiff's individual claim becomes moot. 567 U.S. ----, 133 S.Ct. 26, 183 L.Ed.2d 674 (2012). We hold that it is not justiciable. I The FLSA establishes federal minimum-wage, maximum-hour, and overtime guarantees that cannot be modified by contract. Section 16(b) of the FLSA, 52 Stat. 1060, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), gives employees the right to bring a private cause of action on their own behalf and on behalf of "other employees similarly situated" for specified violations of the FLSA. A suit brought on behalf of other employees is known as a "collective action." See Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. v. Sperling, 493 U.S. 165, 169-170, 110 S.Ct. 482, 107 L.Ed.2d 480 (1989). In 2009, respondent, who was formerly employed by petitioners as a registered nurse at Pennypack Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, filed a complaint on behalf of herself and "all other persons similarly situated." App. 115-116. Respondent alleged that petitioners violated the FLSA by automatically deducting 30 minutes of time worked per shift…
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