Rachel Baker v. Ricky Shuler Trucking Inc. and Ricky Shuler, Individually

District Court, D. New Mexico·Decided July 17, 2026·No. 1:24-cv-01144·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO

RACHEL BAKER,

Plaintiff,

v. No. 1:24-cv-1144 SMD/LF

RICKY SHULER TRUCKING INC. and RICKY SHULER, Individually,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Plaintiff Rachel Baker’s Motion for Conditional Class Certification, filed on September 5, 2025. Doc. 17 (Pl.’s Mot. for Conditional Cert.). Defendants Ricky Shuler Trucking Inc. and Ricky Shuler (collectively “Defendants”) filed their Response in Opposition to Conditional Certification on October 2, 2025. Doc. 18 (Defs.’ Resp.). Plaintiff filed her reply brief on October 20, 2025. Doc. 20 (Pl.’s Reply). Having reviewed the parties’ arguments and the relevant law, the Court will GRANT Plaintiff’s Motion for Conditional Certification and will authorize notice as discussed herein. BACKGROUND Defendants operate a crude‑oil hauling business throughout the southwest region of the United States, including operations in New Mexico. Doc. 1 (Compl.) ¶¶ 2, 21–22. Plaintiff worked for Defendants as a crude‑oil truck driver in New Mexico during the three “years preceding the filing of this lawsuit.” Id. ¶¶ 1, 7. Plaintiff alleges that she and other truck drivers (the “Shuler Drivers”) routinely worked well in excess of 40 hours per week—often 12 to 14‑hour shifts and more than 70 hours per week— while hauling crude oil and performing other work required by Defendants. Id. ¶¶ 5, 8, 26, 31–32. In addition to driving, Plaintiff and other drivers regularly spent 20 to 25 hours each week

performing tasks unrelated to hauling loads, including waiting between scheduled pickups and drop‑offs, deadhead travel between locations, equipment‑related tasks, shop time, breakdown time, and mandatory meetings. See id. ¶¶ 26–30. Plaintiff asserts that these activities were performed for Defendants’ benefit, that drivers remained on duty and were unable to use the time for their own purposes, and that none of this time was compensated. See id. ¶¶ 26–27, 30. Defendants classified Plaintiff and all other truck drivers as exempt and paid them a “partially fixed and partially variable rate based on the number of loads delivered[,]” without paying overtime premiums for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. Id. ¶¶ 25, 28. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants applied these same pay practices to all truck drivers who hauled loads in New Mexico, and that these drivers performed the same or substantially similar job duties

as she did. Id. ¶¶ 23–24, 33–37. Plaintiff brings this action under the New Mexico Minimum Wage Act (NMMWA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to recover unpaid overtime wages and related damages. Id. ¶¶ 1, 51–59. She seeks to represent a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 class and an FLSA collective consisting of all current and former truck drivers who hauled loads in New Mexico, worked more than 40 hours in at least one week during the three years preceding the filing of this lawsuit, and were not paid one and one‑half times their regular rate for overtime hours. See id. ¶¶ 9–10, 13, 33–34. Plaintiff now moves for conditional certification under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) of the FLSA so that notice may issue to similarly situated truck drivers who were subject to the compensation

policies and overtime violations alleged in the Complaint. See Pl.’s Mot. for Conditional Cert. LEGAL STANDARD

Under Section 7 of the FLSA, employers must pay employees at least one and one-half times their regular rate for any hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1). If an employer fails to comply with this requirement, an employee may bring a collective action on behalf of herself and “other employees similarly situated.” 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). “Unlike opt‑out class actions under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, however, collective actions under the FLSA require affirmative consent by a current or former employee to join the class.” Felps v. Mewbourne Oil Co., 460 F. Supp. 3d 1232, 1235 (D.N.M. 2020) (quoting Aguilar v. Mgmt. & Training Corp., No. 2:16‑cv‑050 WJ/GJF, 2017 WL 4277139, at *3) (D.N.M. Jan. 27, 2017) (quotation marks omitted)) (citing 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) (“No employee shall be a party plaintiff to any such action unless he gives his consent in writing to become such a party and such consent is

filed in the court in which such action is brought.”)). “Thus, in order for putative plaintiffs to join an FLSA collective action, they must affirmatively opt in to do so.” Id. (quoting Aguilar, 2017 WL 4277139, at *3) (quotation marks omitted). The FLSA does not define “similarly situated,” but the Tenth Circuit has adopted a two‑step ad hoc approach to determine whether members of a class are similarly situated. See id. (quoting Thiessen v. Gen. Elec. Cap. Corp., 267 F.3d 1095, 1102–05 (10th Cir. 2001)). At the first step—the “notice stage”—the court makes a preliminary determination whether the proposed collective members are similarly situated based on the allegations in the complaint and any supporting declarations. See id. (discussing Thiessen, 460 F. Supp. 3d at 1102); see also Calvillo v. Bull Rogers, Inc., 267 F. Supp. 3d 1307, 1312 (D.N.M. 2017). “If the court finds that the

plaintiffs are similarly situated, notice is sent to putative class members and discovery proceeds on the merits.” Waltrip v. TransWood Logistics, Inc., No. 1:24-cv-0672 SMD/KK, 2025 WL 1361733, at *3 (D.N.M. May 9, 2025). “The court then, at the close of discovery, uses a more

demanding standard to reevaluate whether those who have opted in are ‘similarly situated.’” Id. (quoting Thiessen, 267 F.3d at 1103). The standard at the first step is lenient and requires only “substantial allegations that the putative class members were together the victims of a single decision, policy, or plan.” Thiessen, 267 F.3d at 1102–03 (quoting Vaszlavik v. Storage Tech. Corp., 175 F.R.D. 672, 678 (D. Colo. 1997)); see also Landry v. Swire Oilfield Servs., LLC, 252 F. Supp. 3d 1079, 1114 (D.N.M. 2017). At this stage, the Court does not weigh evidence, resolve factual disputes, or reach the merits of the parties’ positions. See Landry, 252 F. Supp. 3d at 1116 (citation omitted). Instead, “[P]laintiff ‘need only describe the potential class within reasonable limits and provide some factual basis from which the court can determine if similarly situated potential plaintiffs exist.’” Olivas v. C &

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Rachel Baker v. Ricky Shuler Trucking Inc. and Ricky Shuler, Individually, (D.N.M. 2026).

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