Julian v. Metlife, Inc.

298 F. Supp. 3d 699
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 22, 2018
Docket17–cv–0957 (AJN)
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 298 F. Supp. 3d 699 (Julian v. Metlife, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Julian v. Metlife, Inc., 298 F. Supp. 3d 699 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

ALISON J. NATHAN, District Judge:

Named Plaintiffs Debra Julian and Stephanie McKinney bring suit under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201 - 19, and the laws of Connecticut and New York, against their former employer, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Currently before the Court is Plaintiffs' motion for conditional certification, disclosure of contact information, and court-authorized notice. Motion, Dkt. No. 34. Plaintiffs request that the Court conditionally certify a collective action comprising "all people employed by MetLife as Claim Specialists and Senior Claim Specialists who worked on long term disability insurance claims ('LTD Claim Specialists') at any time since February 8, 2014 (three years from the filing of the complaint in this action)." Memo. in Support of Motion ("Support"), Dkt. No. 39, at 3 (footnote omitted). For the following reasons, the Court grants the motion for conditional certification and orders the parties *701to confer and submit a joint proposed notice as described below.

I. Background

Plaintiffs Debra Julian and Stephanie McKinney formerly worked as LTD Claim Specialists for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company ("MetLife"). Second Amended Complaint ("SAC"), Dkt. No. 17, ¶¶ 1, 14-15. LTD Claim Specialists were tasked with gathering information from insured individuals claiming entitlement to long-term disability benefits and presenting this documentation to MetLife staff and supervisors to approve or deny the claims. SAC ¶ 26. Julian worked for MetLife in Oriskany, New York from 2004 to 2016 and served as an LTD Claim Specialist from 2011 through 2016. SAC ¶ 14. McKinney worked as an LTD Claim Specialist in MetLife's Bloomfield, Connecticut office from 2013 through 2016. SAC ¶ 15. Opt-in Plaintiff Tonya Gill worked as an LTD Claim Specialist from 2009 through 2014 out of MetLife's Chicago-area office. Gill Decl., Dkt. No. 37, ¶¶ 3-4.

On February 8, 2017, Julian1 filed a complaint against MetLife on behalf of herself and other current and former LTD Claim Specialists alleging that MetLife had improperly classified LTD Claim Specialists as exempt employees under the FLSA and had thus improperly denied LTD Claim Specialists overtime payments to which they were due. Complaint, Dkt. No. 1. Specifically, Plaintiffs point out that prior to November 2013, MetLife classified LTD Claim Specialists as hourly employees and paid them overtime under the FLSA. SAC ¶ 5. In November 2013, MetLife reclassified LTD Claim Specialists as "exempt" employees and ceased paying them overtime for hours they worked in excess of 40 hours per week. SAC ¶¶ 6-8. The Second Amended Complaint alleges that LTD Claim Specialists regularly work in excess of 40 hours (on average between 45 and 60 hours) without receiving overtime pay. SAC ¶¶ 28-32.

On August 1, 2017, Plaintiffs moved for conditional certification of a collective action under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) and for court-approved distribution of notice. Motion. In support of their motion, the Plaintiffs each provided a declaration. See Julian Decl., Dkt. No. 35; McKinney Decl, Dkt. No. 36; Gill Decl. Plaintiffs also provided copies of certain MetLife documents, including sections of its Claims Management Guide, Dkt. Nos. 38-3, 38-8, 38-10, 38-11, 38-12, 38-13, 38-14, 38-15 (filed under seal); a training document for new hires, Dkt. No. 38-6 (filed under seal); a document entitled "Claim Review Milestones-Initial," Dkt. No. 38-7 (filed under seal); documents regarding the long-term disability claim management process and decisional components, Dkt. No. 38-9 (filed under seal); and documents describing how long-term disability claims were transitioned to full disability, Dkt. No. 38-16 (filed under seal). Defendants opposed the motion for conditional certification, arguing that Plaintiffs have not established that they are "similarly situated" to members of the proposed class. See Memo. in Opp. ("Opp."), Dkt. No. 48, at 13-27. To support their opposition, Defendants filed numerous documents, including in part transcripts of depositions of the three Plaintiffs, Dkt. Nos. 49-2, 49-3, 49-4; a copy of MetLife's official job description for LTD Claim Specialists, Dkt. No. 49-5; several MetLife documents, Dkt. Nos. 49-11 to -20 (filed under seal); and declarations of 11 current MetLife LTD Claim Specialists attesting *702to their job duties, Dkt. Nos. 49-17 to -27.

II. Legal Standard

The FLSA authorizes workers to sue on behalf of both themselves and "other employees similarly situated." 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). "District courts have discretion, in appropriate cases, to implement § 216(b) by facilitating notice to potential plaintiffs of the pendency of the action and of their opportunity to opt-in as represented plaintiffs." Vargas v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., No. 11-cv-7887 (DAB), 2012 WL 10235792, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 9, 2012) (quoting Myers v. Hertz Corp., 624 F.3d 537, 554 (2d Cir. 2010) ). Courts in this circuit apply a two-step method to determine whether a collective action should be certified. Myers, 624 F.3d at 554-55. "The first step involves the court making an initial determination to send notice to potential opt-in plaintiffs who may be 'similarly situated' to the named plaintiffs with respect to whether a FLSA violation has occurred." Id. at 555. At the second step, "the district court will, on a fuller record, determine whether a so-called 'collective action' may go forward by determining whether the plaintiffs who have opted in are in fact 'similarly situated' to the named plaintiffs." Id. If they are not, the action may be "de-certified," and the opt-in plaintiffs' claims will be dismissed without prejudice. Id.

At the first step, plaintiffs need only "make a 'modest factual showing' that they and potential opt-in plaintiffs 'together were victims of a common policy or plan that violated the law.' "

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Bluebook (online)
298 F. Supp. 3d 699, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/julian-v-metlife-inc-ilsd-2018.