U.S. Sup. Ct.
11-1059
Respondent brought a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) on behalf of herself and other employees similarly situated. 29 U. S. C. §216(b). After she ignored petitioners offer of judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68, the District Court, finding that no other individuals had joined her suit and that the Rule 68 offer fully satisfied her claim, concluded that respondents suit was moot and dismissed it for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The Third Circuit reversed. It held that respondents individual claim was moot but that her collective action was not, explaining that allowing defendants to pick off named plaintiffs before certification with calculated Rule 68 offers would frustrate the goals of collective actions. The case was remanded to the District Court to allow respondent to seek conditional certification, which, if successful, would relate back to the date of her complaint.
