[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 3]
[Revised as of July 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR790.20]

[Page 689]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
         CHAPTER V--WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
 
PART 790_GENERAL STATEMENT AS TO THE EFFECT OF THE PORTAL-TO-PORTAL ACT 
OF 1947 ON THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 790.20  Right of employees to sue; restrictions on representative 
actions.

    Section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended by section 
5 of the Portal Act, no longer permits an employee or employees to 
designate an agent or representative (other than a member of the 
affected group) to maintain, an action for and in behalf of all 
employees similarly situated. Collective actions brought by an employee 
or employees (a real party in interest) for and in behalf of himself or 
themselves and other employees similarly situated may still be brought 
in accordance with the provisions of section 16(b). With respect to 
these actions, the amendment provides that no employee shall be a party 
plaintiff to any such action unless he gives his consent in writing to 
become such a party and such consent is filed in the court in which such 
action is brought. The amendment is expressly limited to actions which 
are commenced on or after the date of enactment of the Portal Act. 
Representative actions which were pending on May 14, 1947 are not 
affected by this amendment. \126\ However, under sections 6 and 8 of the 
Portal Act, a collective or representative action commenced prior to 
such date will be barred as to an individual claimant who was not 
specifically named as a party plaintiff to the action on or before 
September 11, 1947, if his written consent to become such a party is not 
filed with the court within a prescribed period. \127\
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    \126\ Conference Report, p. 13.
    \127\ Conference Report, pp. 14, 15. The claimant must file this 
consent within the shorter of the following two periods: (1) Two years, 
or (2) the period prescribed by the applicable State Statute of 
limitations. See Conference Report, p. 15.
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