Collective Action Lawsuits

Join Forces with Other Employees to Recover Unpaid Wages

When a company violates federal wage laws, it often affects an entire group of employees, not just one individual. Collective action lawsuits allow workers to join together in a single legal action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to recover unpaid wages, overtime, and other compensation. These actions provide strength in numbers and a more efficient path to justice.

Our firm regularly represents workers in collective actions involving off-the-clock work, unpaid overtime, employee misclassification, illegal tip practices, and other wage and hour violations. We have the experience and resources to coordinate group litigation and ensure that workers’ rights are protected on a large scale.

What Is a Collective Action Lawsuit?

A collective action is a type of group lawsuit authorized by the FLSA, the federal law that governs minimum wage and overtime pay. Unlike class actions under Rule 23, collective actions require each employee to affirmatively opt in—meaning they must sign a written consent to join the case.

Collective actions are appropriate when:

Collective actions help prevent employers from escaping liability by isolating claims or dragging out individual lawsuits.

Why File a Collective Action?

Collective actions can be a powerful tool to enforce wage laws and ensure accountability. Benefits include:

Shared resources: Litigation costs and time are shared among all plaintiffs.
Stronger leverage: Employers are more likely to settle or change practices when facing a group.
Consistent outcomes: Workers benefit from a single ruling rather than conflicting decisions.
Awareness and participation: Other affected employees may learn about their rights and join.

Collective actions also allow workers to stand together without fear of retaliation, asserting their rights as a unified group.

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Key Differences: Collective Action vs. Class Action

Although both involve group litigation, collective actions and class actions are legally distinct:

	Collective Action	Class Action
Governing Law	FLSA (federal)	State or federal law
Minimum Number of Participants	No minimum number of participants	Typically at least 40 class members required
Participation Mechanism	Opt-in: Employees must sign a consent form to participate	Opt-out: Employees are included unless they decline to participate
Standard for Certification	Requires showing of “similarly situated” workers	Requires meeting Rule 23 class criteria (or similar state law criteria)
Common Use	Wage and hour claims under the FLSA	Wage and hour claims under state law; employment discrimination

Because the FLSA requires employees to opt-in in order to bring or join a collective action, it is essential that workers act quickly to preserve their rights.

Examples of Collective Action Cases

Our firm has filed and litigated FLSA collective actions involving:

Hourly workers not paid for pre-shift and post-shift time.
Employees misclassified as independent contractors.
Hourly workers required to work during unpaid meal breaks.
Restaurant workers subjected to illegal tip deductions and unpaid side work.
Field-based workers not paid for required travel time.
Hourly employees required to attend after-hours meetings without compensation.
Hourly employees subjected to unauthorized timecard edits by management.

In each collective action case that we handle, we work to notify affected workers, gather evidence, and maximize recovery for the entire group.

Your Rights Under the FLSA

The Fair Labor Standards Act guarantees certain rights to workers, including:

When an employer violates these rights, every affected employee may be entitled to back pay and damages. A collective action is the most effective way to recover those unpaid wages on a group-wide basis.

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