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The Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) anti-retaliation provision prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee who makes certain reports regarding alleged wage and hour violations. The United States Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics broadens these anti-retaliatory protections for employees, thus becoming even more dangerous for employers.
By a vote of six to two, the Court ruled that an FLSA complaint can be “filed” orally – rather, than requiring it to be filed in writing. Specifically, the Court held that for purposes of the FLSA’s anti-retaliation provision, an employee who made an oral complaint of FLSA violations would be protected from retaliation from his or her employer as the term “filed any complaint” includes both oral and written complaints. This marks a major reinterpretation of the formality with which a complaint must be filed, making it even easier for employees to invoke the anti-retaliation provision.
With this broadened interpretation of what it means to file a complaint under the FLSA’s anti-retaliation provision, employers need to be aware that even a seemingly informal oral complaint could subject the company to sanctions if it terminates an employee based on such a complaint. An employee’s path to an FLSA retaliation claim has been made much easier, and employers must take extra care to be in compliance with the FLSA.
To read a summary of the full ruling, click here.
For More Information
For further information, please contact: Anthony Romano | 816.360.4251 | aromano@polsinelli.com. |
