Reyes v. A.B. Bakery Restaurant Corp.

Background

Eduardo Reyes brought claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal wage law, and the New York Labor Law to recover allegedly unpaid minimum wages from A.B. Bakery Restaurant Corp., doing business as Jacqueline’s Bakery Restaurant; R&R 1579 Bakery Corp., doing business as Jacqueline’s Lounge; and Reynaldo Bravo.

Reyes moved for conditional certification of an FLSA collective action. Conditional certification is an early-stage decision allowing notice to potential employees who may choose to join an FLSA case. It does not decide whether the defendants violated the law or whether the workers are ultimately similarly situated.

Single Integrated Enterprise

The defendants argued that Reyes could not bring FLSA claims involving Jacqueline’s Lounge because he was employed by Jacqueline’s Bakery Restaurant. Reyes argued that the two corporate defendants operated as one integrated enterprise under the FLSA.

The court found that Reyes had provided enough information at this preliminary stage to support that theory. He alleged that Bravo and Hilar Reyes operated both locations, that they shared a centralized human-resources department, that the locations were next to each other, and that they exchanged employees. The court stated that later discovery could disprove Reyes’s theory, but concluded that both corporate defendants were proper parties at this stage.

Conditional Certification

Reyes sought notice to all current and former non-exempt employees—including bakers, counter people, cashiers, waiters, servers, bartenders, bussers, and cooks—employed by the defendants within six years before the complaint was filed.

The court held that Reyes met the FLSA’s modest preliminary showing requirement. His declaration stated that he discussed the defendants’ wage and hour policies with other employees, that employees worked at both locations, and that workers were subject to similar compensation and scheduling practices. The court did not resolve factual disputes or decide whether the alleged wage violations actually occurred.

The court rejected the defendants’ request to limit the group to bakers at Jacqueline’s Bakery Restaurant. Reyes stated that, although hired as a baker, he also performed cleaning, counter, delivery, stocking, and other work, and that other employees performed similar duties. The court nevertheless narrowed the group because Reyes’s declaration did not mention observations or conversations involving waiters, cashiers, or servers.

The conditionally certified group consists of current and former bakers, counter people, bussers, cooks, maintenance workers, custodians, and customer service workers employed by the defendants within three years before the complaint was filed.

Notice Period and Notice Terms

The court rejected both the defendants’ proposed two-year notice period and Reyes’s proposed six-year period. Because Reyes alleged willful violations, the court used a three-year period for conditional certification. It explained that the motion concerned an FLSA opt-in collective action, not certification of a separate New York-law class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.

The court approved Reyes’s proposed collective-action notice subject to modifications. The notice must include defense counsel’s contact information, provide a 60-day opt-in period, and require potential opt-in plaintiffs to send consent forms directly to the Clerk of Court. The notice must also state that immigration status does not affect a worker’s right to recover back wages or participate in the lawsuit, including for undocumented immigrants. The court declined requested changes that would have stated the defendants’ position or the court’s position in the notice.

Discovery, Posting, and Equitable Tolling

Because the defendants did not oppose these requests, the court ordered them to post the court-authorized notice and consent forms in common areas at Jacqueline’s Bakery Restaurant and Jacqueline’s Lounge.

The defendants also had to provide names, titles, compensation rates, dates of employment, last-known mailing addresses, email addresses, and known telephone numbers for employees within the collective group. The request for Social Security numbers was denied without prejudice, meaning Reyes may renew that request later after specifically showing that the sensitive information is necessary.

The court equitably tolled, or paused, the FLSA limitations period from August 11, 2023—the date Reyes filed the certification motion—until the date the notice is sent to potential opt-in plaintiffs.

Disposition

The court granted in part and denied in part Reyes’s motion for conditional certification. It approved the proposed notice subject to the stated modifications, required Reyes to submit a revised notice for approval, ordered the defendants to provide employee information and post the notice, and granted the requested tolling. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motion at ECF No. 27.

This order addressed the preliminary process for notifying and enrolling potential FLSA plaintiffs. It did not determine whether the defendants owed unpaid wages or otherwise resolve the ultimate merits of the wage claims.