Before the Court may approve a settlement in a collective action brought under the FLSA, it must first determine whether the settlement involves the resolution of a bona fide dispute over an FLSA provision and then decide whether the settlement is fair and reasonable. Camp, 2004 WL 2149079, at *4 citing Lynn's Food Stores, Inc. v. United States, 679 F.2d 1350, 1352-55 (11th Cir. 1982), Jarrad v. Southern Shipbldg. Corp., 163 F.2d 960 (5th Cir. 1947) and Stalnaker v. Novar Corp., 293 F.Supp.2d 1260, 1263 (M.D. Ala. 2003).

In determining whether a settlement is fair, adequate and reasonable, the Court should consider the following six factors: (1) the existence of fraud or collusion behind the settlement; (2) the complexity, expense, and likely duration of the litigation; (3) the stage of the proceedings and the amount of discovery completed; (4) the probability of plaintiffs' success on the merits; (5) the range of possible recovery; and (6) the opinions of the class counsel, class representatives, and absent class members. Camp, 2004 WL 2149079 at *5 citing Reed v. General Motors Corp., 703 F.2d 170, 172 (5th Cir. 1983) citing Parker v. Anderson, 667 F.2d 1204, 1209 (5th Cir. 1982). When considering these factors, the court should keep in mind the "strong presumption" in favor of finding a settlement fair. Id. citing Cotton, 559 F.2d at 1331 and Henderson v. Eaton, No. 01-0138, 2002 WL 31415728, at *2 (E.D. La. 2002).

As part of the fairness determination, the Court must also assess the reasonableness of the proposed attorney's fees and expenses sought by plaintiffs' counsel. Camp, 2004 WL 2149079 at *18-19 citing Strong, 137 F.3d at 850, Heidtman, 171 F.3d at 1043 and Longden, 979 F.2d at 1100-01; Liger, 2009 WL 2856246, at *5.