O'Leary v. Humana Insurance Company et al

Filing 23

ORDER granting 22 Motion (Unopposed) for Order Approving Stipulated Conditional Class Certification and Notice to Putative Members of Collective Action, signed by Chief Judge William C Griesbach on 06/14/2018. Elizabeth J. Eberle of Miner, Barnhil l & Galland, P.C., shall serve as class counsel and Carolyn J. OLeary shall serve as the representative for the opt-in plaintiffs. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A - Court Authorized Notice, # 2 Exhibit B - Consent to Join) SEE ORDER FOR FULL DETAIL. (cc: all counsel) (Griesbach, William)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
CAROLYN J. O’LEARY, individually
and on behalf of all other similarly situated individuals,
Plaintiffs,
v.

Case No. 17-C-1774

HUMANA INSURANCE COMPANY
and HUMANA INC.,
Defendants.

ORDER APPROVING STIPULATED CONDITIONAL CLASS CERTIFICATION AND
NOTICE TO PUTATIVE MEMBERS OF COLLECTIVE ACTION

On June 12, 2018, the parties filed a stipulation to conditionally certify a collective action
pursuant to Section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act and authorize notice. ECF No. 22. The
court APPROVES the stipulation, and orders that:
1. The following class is conditionally certified under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b):
All persons who were classified as exempt under the FLSA and
worked as clinical nurse advisors for Defendants in the roles of
Clinical Intake, Clinical Claims Review, Clinical Claims Review —
DME, Acute Case Managers, or Market Clinical — Senior Products
utilization management nurses, at any time within the three years
prior to the date the Court approves this Stipulation.1
2. Within fourteen (14) days of the Court approving this stipulation by signing below,
Defendants shall provide to Plaintiff’s counsel the names, dates of employment within the defined
positions, and home address for all Putative Members of the Collective as defined above. Defendants
shall provide such information in a computer-readable format, such as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
1

Excluded from this collective definition are those individuals who were mailed notices and
consents to opt-in in October 2017 in an FLSA collective action styled Killebrew v. Humana Inc.,
Civil Action No. 5:16-cv-01276 (W.D. Tex., San Antonio Div.).

Additionally, in the event that any notices are returned as undeliverable, Defendants shall provide
the dates of birth for those individuals so that Plaintiff can perform a skip trace.
3. Plaintiff’s counsel shall mail a copy of the stipulated Notice of Rights and stipulated
Consent Form via first class mail to all persons contained on the list within fourteen (14) days of
receiving the list from Defendants. Attached hereto as Exhibit A is the Notice of Rights to the class
members and Exhibit B the consent form. The Parties have stipulated that these documents are
timely, accurate, and informative. Plaintiff’s counsel may hire a class action administration company
to oversee the mailing of the notice and forms, at Plaintiff’s expense. Plaintiff’s counsel will not
otherwise initiate communication with Putative Members of the Collective unless authorized by the
Court. However, this shall not restrict Plaintiff’s counsel from responding to inquiries by Putative
Members.
4. Elizabeth J. Eberle of Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C., shall serve as class counsel and
Carolyn J. O’Leary shall serve as the representative for the opt-in plaintiffs.
5. Defendants reserve the right to later argue that Plaintiff and any opt-in Plaintiff are not
“similarly situated” under applicable law, and to seek decertification from the Court on any grounds
they deem appropriate.
6. Defendants will not communicate, directly or indirectly, with any putative Member of the
Collective Action about settlement of any outstanding wage claims related to this suit during the optin period.
Dated this 14th

day of June, 2018.
s/ William C. Griesbach
William C. Griesbach, Chief Judge
United States District Court

2