Judge Nanette Laughrey of the Western District of Missouri recently entered a decision conditionally certifying a nationwide FLSA class of State Farm hourly employees holding the job titles of Claims Service Assistant, Claims Processor, Claims Representative, Underwriter, Auditor, and Account Representative. The judge also certified, under rule 23, these employee’s claims under the Missouri Minimum Wage Law. The employees claimed that State Farm maintains a policy and practice of requiring them to work without pay during unpaid meal breaks, and before and after their scheduled shifts. Notably, this is yet another case where a federal judge was unimpressed by the company’s assertion that the Supreme Court’s Dukes v. Wal-Mart decision precluded class certification.
