At that point, "the court must determine whether the plaintiffs are, in fact, similarly situated." Petrone v. Werner Enters., Inc. , No. 8:11CV401, 2012 WL 4848900, at *2 (D. Neb. Oct. 11, 2012) (first alteration in original) (quoting Littlefield , 679 F. Supp. 2d at 1016-17 ). At the first stage, the Court's determination "may be based only on the pleadings and any affidavits in the record."

In the Eighth Circuit, the court applied Section 785.18 and required the employer to pay its employee for 15-minute breaks each morning. Brown v. L&P Industries, LLC, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39920, 2005 WL 3503637, at *6 (E.D. Ark. Dec. 21, 2005); see also Petrone v. Werner Enterprises, Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146324, 2012 WL 484900, at *3 (D. Neb. Oct. 11, 2012). In DeKeyser v. Thyssenkrupp, a district court in the Seventh Circuit relied on Section 785.18 to conclude that "additional minutes taken outside of [the employer's] provided rest breaks should be considered compensable work time under the FLSA."

Neither the FLSA itself nor the Eighth Circuit have defined "similarly situated." Petrone v. Werner Enters., Inc., 8:12CV307, 2012 WL 4848900, at *2 (D. Neb. Oct. 11, 2012) (citing Schleipfer v. Mitek Corp., 1:06CV109 CDP, 2007 WL 2485007, *3 (E.D. Mo. Aug. 29, 2007)). However, the practice of district courts in the circuit is to apply a two-step approach in making a determination.

Neither the FLSA itself nor the Eighth Circuit have defined "similarly situated." Petrone v. Werner Enters., Inc., 8:12CV307, 2012 WL 4848900, at *2 (D. Neb. Oct. 11, 2012) (citing Schleipfer v. Mitek Corp., 1:06CV109 CDP, 2007 WL 2485007, *3 (E.D. Mo. Aug. 29, 2007)). However, the practice of district courts in the circuit is to apply a two-step approach in making a determination.

Neither the FLSA itself nor the Eighth Circuit have defined "similarly situated." Petrone v. Werner Enters., Inc., 8:12CV307, 2012 WL 4848900, at *2 (D. Neb. Oct. 11, 2012) (citing Schleipfer v. Mitek Corp., 1:06CV109 CDP, 2007 WL 2485007, *3 (E.D. Mo. Aug. 29, 2007)). However, the practice of district courts in the circuit is to apply a two-step approach in making a determination.