Anthony Kennedy

“ The court also authorized respondents to send to all employees who had not yet joined the suit a notice and a consent document, with a text and form approved by the court. The court attached the authorized notice to its interlocutory order. At the end of the approved notice was a statement that the notice had been authorized by the District Court, but that the court had taken no position on the merits of the case. Id., at 417. Finally, the District Court refused to invalidate the consents already filed. ”

“ The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) , 81 Stat. 602, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. V) , provides that an employee may bring an action on behalf of himself and other employees similarly situated. To resolve disagreement among the Courts of Appeals, [1] we granted certiorari on the question whether a district court conducting a suit of this type may authorize and facilitate notice of the pending action. ”

“ The District Court was correct to permit discovery of the names and addresses of the discharged employees. Without pausing to explore alternative bases for the discovery, for instance that the employees might have knowledge of other discoverable matter, we find it suffices to say that the discovery was relevant to the subject matter of the action and that there were no grounds to limit the discovery under the facts and circumstances of this case.
The ADEA, through incorporation of § 16 (b) , expressly authorizes employees to bring collective age discrimination actions "in behalf of . ”

“ One of the most significant insights that skilled trial judges have gained in recent years is the wisdom and necessity for early judicial intervention in the management of litigation. Peckham, The Federal Judge as a Case Manager: The New Role in Guiding a Case from Filing to Disposition, 69 Calif.L.Rev. ”