A challenge to the two-step process judges use to decide whether workers can sue as a group over alleged violations of federal wage-and-hour laws is set for oral argument Tuesday before a federal appeals court in New Orleans.
The case gives the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit the rare opportunity to weigh in on—and potentially make significant pro-management changes to—a process that some employer advocates have criticized as inefficient and expensive for companies to litigate.
Courts generally apply a lenient standard in the first step of the process to decide whether workers are similar enough to each ...