Fourth Circuit Applies Dukes To A Wage And Hour Matter

Since the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), plaintiffs in wage and hour cases have urged courts to ignore the decision, arguing that it only applies to discrimination cases, not to wage and hour matters. Surprisingly, considering that the Court was interpreting Rule 23, which applies in every case regardless of subject matter, that argument had found some traction in some district courts. The analysis often was thin and dismissive.

The Supreme Court had already signaled, promptly after Dukes, that wage and hour cases were no different, vacating the Ninth Circuit's decision in Wang v. Chinese Daily News, Inc., 623 F.3d 743 (9th Cir. 2010), and remanding the matter for reconsideration in light of Dukes. 132 S. Ct. 74 (2011). Confirming that view, last week the Fourth Circuit applied Dukes to vacate a class certification ruling in a wage and hour matter to require more "rigorous analysis." Ealy v. Pinkerton Govt. Servs., Inc., 2013 WL 980035 (4th Cir...