Katharine H. Parker
How Judge Parker decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On FLSA collective certification she holds plaintiffs to the 'modest factual showing' standard and will deny conditional certification (without prejudice) where the record does not yet support that the putative members were similarly situated -- a meaningful gate for employment-side plaintiffs given her labor-and-employment background.
“Plaintiffs now move for conditional certification of their FLSA claims as a collective action ... For the reasons stated below, Plaintiffs' motion is denied without prejudice.”
On discovery directed at the government in constitutional litigation she enforces governmental privileges firmly: a subpoena to a Governor for non-public documents about a statute's purpose and tailoring can be quashed as both irrelevant and protected by legislative, deliberative-process, and attorney-client privilege.
“For the reasons that follow, the Governor's motion to quash is GRANTED.”
Procedural preferences
Her R&Rs are adopted in full, including over a pro se litigant's objections, after the district judge's de novo review -- a signal that her recommendations are well-grounded. She also actively manages her consent Social Security docket toward efficient disposition, frequently resolving cases by stipulated sentence-four remands.
“the Court, after a de novo review of the objected-to aspects of the Report, adopts the Report in its entirety, and therefore grants in part, and denies in part, Gaughan's motion to amend.”
Motion outcomes
Counted from classified signed orders only. Percentages are shown only where the sample is large enough to be meaningful; smaller samples are reported as raw counts.
| Motion for conditional certification N = 1 |
Denied: 1 | counts only |
| Motion to quash N = 1 |
Granted: 1 | counts only |
| Motion to amend N = 1 |
Granted in part: 1 | counts only |
| Judgment on the pleadings N = 1 |
Moot / procedural: 1 | counts only |
A "1 of 1" is one ruling, not a tendency. Treat small samples as illustrative, not predictive.
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Plaintiffs now move for conditional certification of their FLSA claims as a collective action and for leave to disseminate notice to the putative FLSA collective, pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). For the reasons stated below, Plaintiffs' motion is denied without prejudice.”
“For the reasons that follow, the Governor's motion to quash is GRANTED.”
“Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker, in a Report & Recommendation to the Court, Dkt. 38 ("Report"), recommends that Gaughan's motion be granted in part and denied in part. ... the Court, after a de novo review of the objected-to aspects of the Report, adopts the Report in its entirety, and therefore grants in part, and denies in part, Gaughan's motion to amend.”
“STIPULATION AND ORDER OF REMAND PURSUANT TO SENTENCE FOUR OF 42 U.S.C. § 405(g): IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED ... that the Commissioner's decision be, and hereby is, reversed and that this action be, and hereby is, remanded to the Commissioner of Social Security, pursuant to the fourth sentence of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) ... SO ORDERED. (Signed by Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker on 5/14/2026)”