Johnson v. Desert Fire LLC, 6:25-cv-00037

Plaintiff Ashara Ramirez, a former dancer at Silver Dollar Club in Eugene, Oregon, filed a collective action lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) against Desert Fire LLC and Damon Shrader, alleging misclassification and various wage violations.
Ramirez claims Defendants misclassified dancers as independent contractors, failed to pay wages, required kickback payments (house fees), and imposed a forced tipping policy benefiting non-dancer staff and the club.
The collective action seeks to represent current and former dancers from May 2021 to June 2024 under the same employment conditions at the single business location.
Plaintiff moved for conditional certification of the FLSA collective, court-approved notice to potential class members, and equitable tolling of the statute of limitations.
Defendants did not oppose conditional certification but raised various objections to notice procedures, content, and the extent/timing of equitable tolling.
The court granted the motion in part, conditionally certifying the collective, modifying the notice plan, and granting partial equitable tolling.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Conditional certification of collective class	Dancers were subject to common, unlawful policies and are similarly situated.	Reserved right to oppose later, but did not contest preliminary certification.	Granted conditional certification.
Scope & content of court-approved notice	Broad, multi-channel notice plan; three-year class; court-ordered disclosure of contacts.	Notices are confusing/misleading; privacy concerns; limit unsolicited communication; poster size.	Notice approved in part, with format/content changes.
Procedures for notifying potential class members	Multiple reminders; public and dressing room notice; assuage retaliation fears.	Limit contacts/reminders; restrict posting at public entrance; challenge poster size.	Notice in dressing rooms only; limited contacts.
Equitable tolling of statute of limitations	Court delay is beyond plaintiffs' control; fairness requires tolling.	No wrongful conduct or extraordinary circumstances; tolling contrary to Congressional design.	Granted from briefing completion until notice issue.

Campbell v. City of Los Angeles, 903 F.3d 1090 (9th Cir. 2018) (establishes two-step process for FLSA collective certification and the "similarly situated" standard)
Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. v. Sperling, 493 U.S. 165 (1989) (approves court-supervised notice to potential plaintiffs in FLSA collective actions)
Am. Pipe & Const. Co. v. Utah, 414 U.S. 538 (1974) (addresses statute of limitations tolling in class actions but not FLSA collectives)
Stoll v. Runyon, 165 F.3d 1238 (9th Cir. 1999) (equitable tolling based on extraordinary circumstances)