On October 24, 2013, the Southern District of Mississippi granted Plaintiff Steven Eberline's motion for an order to permit court supervised opt-in notice to potential plaintiffs and class certification under § 16(b) of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
Plaintiff filed a complaint on March 28, 2013, alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act on behalf of satellite cable installers and technicians employed by Media Net, LLC. This case involves overtime compensation policies for “independent contractors” who work for Media Net, a supplier of DirecTV services. The installers allege that they worked over 40 hours per week without receiving overtime compensation.
The Court found that “the evidence submitted forms a factual basis….to believe that workers who suffered similar injuries under the same circumstances exist and wish to join the lawsuit.” “Therefore, the motion to permit court-supervised opt-in notice should be granted and the class conditionally certified for the purposes of discovery.”
In its order, the Court conditionally certified a collective class “consisting of all installers/technicians who worked for or are working for Defendants and were paid piece rate and not paid overtime within the three years prior to the Complaint being filed.”
To read the Order Granting Plaintiff’s Motion to Certify a Collective Class, click here.
