Ritter v. United States, 24-1608

Plaintiff Tyrone Ritter brings a collective Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) action on behalf of himself and similarly situated FEMA Damage Inspectors Program Specialists (Field Representative-Disaster Inspection, position codes QZ8252 and K23007) who worked since January 20, 2020.
The parties jointly requested Court-ordered notice to potential collective action members and also sought a stay of proceedings once notice is issued.
The Plaintiff and Defendant stipulated that the putative collective action members performed the same job under identical policies during the relevant timeframe.
The procedural request was for Court approval of notifying these employees and for appropriate privacy protections regarding their contact information.
The Court noted that the parties briefed the notice issue under an incorrect standard but issued a ruling based on the proper legal criteria for FLSA collective actions.
The Court ordered issuance of notice to similarly situated employees and a stay of proceedings after notice is distributed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Should FLSA collective action notice issue to similarly situated individuals?	Notice is appropriate based on job similarity and policies.	Agreed to issuance of notice if similarly situated standard met.	Granted; notice to all such employees authorized.
Is it necessary to apply conditional certification, or can the Court decide based on stipulations and record?	Requested a two-step conditional certification process.	Agreed with plaintiff on conditional certification, if required.	Court rejected conditional certification, applied correct standard regardless of parties' arguments.
Should plaintiff’s counsel receive contact information of potential opt-ins subject to a protective order?	Seeks disclosure with Court-approved protections.	Agrees, subject to appropriate protective order.	Granted as requested; parties to submit protective order.
Should case be stayed after notice issues?	Requested stay during opt-in period.	Agreed to stay.	Granted; case stayed post-notice until further order.

Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. v. Sperling, 493 U.S. 165 (authorizes court-approved notice to potential FLSA collective action members)
Kamen v. Kemper Financial Services, Inc., 500 U.S. 90 (court must apply the correct legal standard regardless of parties' agreement)