Aggregate litigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), requires an opt-in mechanism. Plaintiffs' lawyers would obviously prefer the Rule 23 opt-out mechanism to make the case larger. But in Butler v. American Cable and Telephone, No. 09-cv-5336 (N.D. Ill. Jul. 12, 2011), the district court said no dice.

It seems a couple of courts have improperly allowed FLSA settlements on an opt-out basis: See, e.g., Harden v. William Wrigley, Jr., Co., No. 07 C 5928 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 6, 2008); Frank v. Eastman Kodak Co., 228 F.R.D. 174 (W.D.N.Y. 2005) (no relation).

(Via CCAF attorney Adam Schulman.)