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In both modern and historical times, class action lawsuits have required plaintiffs to share a common interest when they proceed collectively in an action.  When Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule 23) went into effect in 1938, it reflected the common-interest requirement by requiring class action plaintiffs to share a common question of law or fact.  That same year, when Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), it drafted the common-interest requirement into § 216(b) of the statute, which allows employees to bring suit either individually or on behalf of others who are ““similarly situated.””  Yet it remains unclear whether Congress intended § 216(b) to serve as a separate procedural device, or whether Congress simply intended to reflect the common-interest requirement of a class action lawsuit. . . .