When an employer is hit with a proposed collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act, it cannot “pick off” the lead plaintiff by making an offer of judgment that moots her claim before any other workers have the chance to “opt in” to the case, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
In Symczyk v. Genesis HealthCare Corp. , a unanimous three-judge panel held that defendants in collective actions cannot strategically use an offer of judgment under Rule 68 to end such a case at the outset.
