Answer and Defenses
(Employment Discrimination Class or Collective Action)

Summary

This template is used by private employers to prepare answers and defenses to employment discrimination class or collective action complaints. Employers must file this pleading to preserve their defenses and contest the plaintiffs' allegations and claims in the complaint. This template is intended for private employers. This template includes practical guidance and drafting notes. Most employment discrimination group actions (such as Title VII, ADA, GINA, FMLA, and other similar statutes) follow the class action requirement of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For more detail on the Rule 23 class action cases, see 5 Moore's Federal Practice - Civil Chapter 23.syn. For practice notes, templates, checklists, presentations, and videos that give you a starting point in preparing for various types of employment litigation, see Employment Litigation Resource Kit. The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) generally adopts the collective action process contained in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and requires plaintiffs to bring group actions as a collective action rather than a class action. In addition, the federal Equal Pay Act (EPA), which is part of the FLSA, requires plaintiffs to bring group actions as collective actions. For more information on the collective action process, see Class or Collective Actions—1-9 Wages & Hours: Law and Practice § 9.02, sub. [3][b]. See also Conditional Collective Action Certification and Decertification Motions under FLSA Section 216(b) and Notice Requirements for FLSA Section 216(b) Collective Actions. Note that the defenses in this template apply to a variety of claims, including discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims. It is possible that some of the defenses in this template may not apply to the claim(s) at issue in your case. For example, there may not be any retaliation claims in your case, but this template covers retaliation defenses. For additional information on defenses to employment discrimination claims, see Defenses to EEO Claims: Key Considerations and Defenses to Employment Claims. For tracking of recent case law on answers and defenses to employment discrimination class or collective action complaints and other key federal, state, and local Labor & Employment legal developments, see Labor & Employment Key Legal Developments Tracker (Current).