Ma (Labs) Knows Best—California Court Uses Comcast To Reject Certification Of An Off-The-Clock Claim

California is bringing Comcast home—last week, California employers were the beneficiary of some down-home wisdom coming out of San Francisco. 

Giving some sage advice to the wage and hour community, Judge Alsup in Lou et. al. v. Ma Laboratories, Inc., denied conditional and class certification to a broad class of Ma Labs workers under the FLSA and Rule 23.  The Court looked at last year’s Supreme Court decision in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend (see our analysis here) and asked what seems like it should be a simple question:  can I try all of these plaintiffs’ claims in one case?  The answer:  where plaintiffs have not presented common proof of liability or a method of determining classwide damages, Comcast means no certification. 

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