Tiffany Sparks v. TLC House and Residential Services, LLC, et al.

Summary

This document is an order from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana approving notice and an opt-in consent form for a proposed FLSA collective action in Sparks v. TLC House and Residential Services, LLC, et al. The Court approved notice to present and former caregiver employees who worked over 40 hours in one or more workweeks on or after April 1, 2022, and were allegedly not paid overtime premiums. The order also directs Defendants to provide potential collective members’ contact and employment information and permits one text-message notice, with a protocol for producing dates of birth for undeliverable mailings.

Holdings

1. A collective-action notice may include potential plaintiffs whose claims could be time-barred absent equitable tolling when they are otherwise similarly situated victims of the alleged common unlawful policy or plan. The individualized nature of limitations and equitable-tolling defenses does not by itself defeat notice to those individuals.
2. Plaintiff's counsel may send the approved text notice once to each putative collective member's cell-phone number, and Defendants must produce those numbers for that purpose.
3. Defendants must provide dates of birth only for potential collective members whose initial mailings are returned as undeliverable without a forwarding address, and the information must be produced within seven days and maintained confidentially under the protective order.
4. The Court approved the notice and opt-in consent form, with the language and service provisions set forth in the order, and required Defendants to provide names, addresses, cell-phone numbers, email addresses, and employment dates for each potential collective member within fourteen days.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the proposed FLSA collective-action notice could include potential plaintiffs whose claims might be untimely absent equitable tolling.
2. Whether Plaintiff could send one text-message notice to each putative collective member and obtain the members' cell-phone numbers.
3. Whether Defendants should provide dates of birth for potential collective members whose initial mailings were returned as undeliverable and lacked forwarding addresses.
4. Whether the proposed notice language concerning potential overtime claims, limitations periods, and the terminology of claims was appropriate.
5. Whether the Court should approve the proposed collective-action notice, opt-in consent form, and related methods of service.

Disposition

other