Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Worker fired for verbal complaints can sue; Minneapolis firm represents plaintiff at SCOTUS


The Fair Labor Standard Act’s anti-retaliation provision protects an employee who allegedly lost his job because he made verbal complaints to his employer about the placement of timeclocks, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 6-2 decision.


The ruling reverses a decision from the 7th Circuit.


The plaintiff was represented by James Kaster and Adrianna Haugen of Minneapolis.


Section 215(a)(3) of the Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits retaliation against an employee who has “filed any complaint” regarding purported wage and hour violations.


In this case, the plaintiff sued for retaliation under the Act, alleging that the defendant fired him after he made verbal complaints about the placement of timeclocks in the workplace. The defendant’s positioning of timeclocks allegedly prevented workers from being compensated for time donning and doffing work clothes and protective gear.


The defendant argued that the Act’s anti-retaliation provision only protects employees who have filed complaints in writing.


But the Court decided that the statute protects oral as well as written complaints.


“To fall within the scope of the anti-retaliation provision, a complaint must be sufficiently clear and detailed for a reasonable employer to understand it, in light of both content and context, as an assertion of rights protected by the statute and a call for their protection. This standard can be met, however, by oral complaints, as well as by written ones,” the court said.


Justice Stephen Breyer authored the majority opinion. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a dissenting opinion, which was joined by Justice Clarence Thomas. Justice Elena Kagan took no part in the decision.