Chipotle Asks Justices to Review Split Over FLSA Certification

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has asked the Supreme Court to review the Second Circuit’s “common-material-issue” standard for assessing whether employees are similarly situated for purposes of collective certification under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Aug. 28 petition calls the Second Circuit’s permissive approach legally incorrect and “patently unworkable,” urging the justices to rule on whether courts may properly “consider factors other than the presence of a single material question of law or fact common to a group of employees” to resolve lower court confusion.

Courts should be able to account for dissimilarities and related procedural considerations, the petition claims....