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On May 13, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee conditionally certified a collective of salaried Disability Benefits Specialists in Loomis v. Unum Group Corporation, Case No. 1:20-cv-00251. The court granted the motion for step-one notice in part. This is a disability benefits specialist overtime lawsuit.
Judge Curtis L. Collier signed the order. He granted the plaintiff’s motion for conditional certification in part and denied Unum’s motions for oral argument and for leave to file a sur-reply. The reasons are in an accompanying memorandum that is not part of this two-page order. This page does not say which parts the court turned down.
In close paraphrase, the collective the court conditionally certified in 2021 included workers who met four terms:
processing disability claims using the guidelines in Unum’s Benefit Center Claims Manual.
The order said the group included, but was not limited to, six job titles. They were Disability Benefit(s) Specialist, Disability Specialist, Benefit(s) Specialist, Disability Claims Examiner, Disability Benefit(s) Claim Analyst, and Life Event Specialist.
Notice terms. Unum had twenty-eight days to give the plaintiff an electronic contact list. Notice had to mention opt-in plaintiffs’ possible responsibility for costs and could go only by mail and email. The plaintiff could ask the court for permission to send notice by text only if both the mailed and emailed notices came back undeliverable; the order also stated: Plaintiff may not send any reminder notices.
The collective was not limited to one department, one level, or the six listed titles. The definition turned on duties: processing disability claims using the guidelines in Unum’s Benefit Center Claims Manual.
Conditional certification is an early step that authorizes notice. It is not a finding that anyone was misclassified or that Unum broke the law.
The order does not name the legal theory or the exemption at issue. As general information, the Fair Labor Standards Act requires overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek unless the employer proves an exemption. A salary alone is not enough.
For office jobs, employers often raise the administrative exemption. It requires pay on a salary basis at or above a set minimum. The main duty must be office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or its customers. That duty must also include the exercise of discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance.
The motion asked for “step-one notice,” a term from the two-step conditional certification process many federal courts used in 2021. Some federal appeals courts have since changed this approach — the Fifth Circuit in Swales v. KLLM Transport Services (2021) and the Sixth Circuit in Clark v. A&L Homecare & Training Center (2023). Clark now governs federal courts in the Sixth Circuit.
This page describes a 2021 court order. The time to join that collective was set by the court in that case. If you have worked in a similar role, the Siegel Law Group can evaluate your own claims.
Did you process disability claims on a salary, with no overtime for hours over 40? A lawyer can review how you were paid. Read about salaried versus hourly pay, or contact the Siegel Law Group for a free consultation.
It depends on the actual work. Under 29 C.F.R. § 541.203(a), insurance claims adjusters whose duties match that rule’s list generally satisfy the administrative exemption’s duties requirements. A salary or a title proves nothing by itself, so whether a disability benefits specialist who works from a claims manual is exempt turns on the facts. The Unum order did not decide that question.
Unum’s 2021 collective, as the court conditionally certified it, included salaried Disability Benefits Specialists at any level in three Unum disability departments within the order’s three-year window. Their duties had to include processing disability claims under Unum’s Benefit Center Claims Manual. Listed titles included Disability Claims Examiner, Benefit(s) Specialist, and Life Event Specialist.
The two-page order does not give its reasons; it points to a separate memorandum for them. What the order did was set the limits. Notice could go only by mail and email. The plaintiff could ask the court for permission to text particular workers only if both the mailed and emailed notices came back undeliverable, and reminder notices were not allowed.
A disability claims worker generally has two years to sue over each unpaid overtime payday, extended to three years if the pay violation was willful (29 U.S.C. § 255(a)). For anyone who opts in, the claim is generally treated as commenced for that worker only on the date a written consent signed by that worker is filed with the court (29 U.S.C. § 256(b)). Each week of delay can push older pay periods out of reach.
If you did this kind of work for another employer and weren't paid overtime for hours over 40, tell us your job title, your employer and the state you worked in. We'll tell you plainly whether we think you have a case. Federal law makes it illegal to retaliate against you for asking.
Siegel Law Group PLLC concentrates in unpaid overtime cases under the FLSA and state wage laws. The firm has filed more than 100 federal overtime cases, obtained 50+ class and collective certifications in 20 federal judicial districts across 15 states, and recovered more than $100 million for workers. It has never represented an employer in a wage case. Free consultation. Contingency fee: we advance case costs, and they are repaid from any recovery. No recovery, no fee and no costs. Phone: (214) 790-4454 | Email: [email protected]
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