Black et al v. DMNO, LLC et al

Filing 31

ORDER AND REASONS granting 12 Motion to Certify Class. Signed by Judge Susie Morgan on 11/29/2016. (cg)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
JAMES BLACK, ET AL.,
Plaintiff

CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS

NO. 16-2708

DMNO, LLC, ET AL.,
Defendants

SECTION: “E”

ORDER AND REASONS
Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ motion for conditional class certification and judicial
notice.1 For the reasons set forth below, the motion is granted for good cause and in the
interests of justice with the changes described below.
Plaintiffs requested the class be defined as:
(1)

You were employed as an hourly employee at Doris Metropolitan within the
past three years and were not paid overtime, and/or

(2)

You were employed as a server at Doris Metropolitan, paid less than $7.25
per hour in direct cash wages (e.g., you were paid $2.13/hour), and you were
required to tip out a portion of your tips to managers and/or
owners/managers.

This definition would encompass all hourly workers at Doris Metropolitan, both front of
house and back of house. The allegations of the Complaint2 and memorandum in support
of class certification3 center on servers and bartenders. The Fair Labor Standards Act
(“FLSA”) requires the action to be brought by similarly situated employees. 4 The Court
finds that the class should be limited to bartenders, servers, and assistant servers as they
are the similarly situated employees.

R. Doc. 12.
R. Doc. 1.
3 R. Doc. 12-1.
4 29 U.S.C. § 216(b).
1

2

IT IS ORDERED that this action is conditionally certified as an FLSA collective
action until further ordered by this Court.
The class is defined as:
(1) You were employed as a bartender and paid as an hourly employee at Doris
Metropolitan within the past three years and were not paid overtime, and/or
(2) You were employed as a server or assistant server at Doris Metropolitan, paid
less than $7.25 per hour in direct cash wages (e.g., you were paid $2.13/hour),
and you were required to tip out a portion of your tips to managers and/or
owners/managers.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs may, at their expense, notify other
potential class members of this action using the Proposed Notice attached to Plaintiffs’
reply memorandum in support of their motion for conditional class certification and
judicial notice,5 modified to reflect the class definition set forth above. Plaintiffs shall use
the Consent Form attached to Defendants’ memorandum in opposition to the motion for
class certification.6
New Orleans, Louisiana, this 29th day of November, 2016.
_____________________ __________
SUSIE MORGAN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

5
6

R. Doc. 30-1.
R. Doc. 28-2.