An Illinois federal judge delivered a resounding victory to a BakerHostetler Employment/Wage and Hour Class Actions team and client Dearborn Life Insurance Co. on Feb. 23, 2024, rejecting a lawsuit by current and former disability claims analysts who insisted they were misclassified as exempt and wrongfully denied overtime pay. Judge Mary M. Rowland agreed with the firm’s assertion that all 22 members of a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective qualified for the administrative exemption from overtime pay under the FLSA and Maine Wage Law – a finding that led Judge Rowland to grant Dearborn’s motion for summary judgment and dismiss the lawsuit in its entirety. In so doing, Judge Rowland also denied both the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification and Dearborn’s motion to decertify the FLSA collective as moot.
“Our client is thrilled with the outcome. The judge definitively ruled that Dearborn classified these employees correctly,” said Partner Mark Temple, who co-leads the Employment/Wage and Hour Class Actions team and, along with Partner Peter Stuhldreher and Associate Paul Knettel, helmed Dearborn’s successful representation.