The value of top wage and hour class and collective action settlements is down so far this year, while conditional certifications in wage collective litigation are up, according to Duane Morris LLP reports, trends that a lead author attributed to the relative ease of obtaining initial collective approval.
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Even with the higher conditional certification figure, the Duane Morris report noted there was just one certification ruling from a court in the Fifth Circuit and none in the Sixth Circuit during the first half of the year. Those circuits have alternatives to the two-step process others use that entails conditional certification and then final certification or decertification later on.
Such a high percentage of conditional certifications is why the defense side has sought a more rigorous standard, said Allison Powers of management-side firm Blank Rome LLP.
"The impact of a more rigorous standard is that the plaintiffs and counsel will have to do more work upfront to establish that plaintiff and the putative collective are similarly situated," she said. "There's a reason why that is where the battlefield is being staged."
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"Wage Collective Certifications Up, Deals Down, Reports Find," by Max Kutner was published in Law360 Employment Authority on July 14, 2025.
