Friday, March 26, 2010

WIRTW #120


Last July, I reported on Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Plastics, in which the 7th Circuit held that the anti-retaliation provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act does not cover unwritten, verbal wage and hour complaints. At the time, I said:

Employers should not get overly excited about this decision. The 7th Circuit’s holding in Kasten appears to be the minority view. Indeed, the 6th Circuit [has] found that an employee’s oral complaints to a supervisor were protected. Employers act at their own peril if they fire employees who make oral wage and hour internal complaints.

This week, the Supreme Court agreed to review the Kasten decision. Some time next year we’ll get the final say on whether the FLSA covers oral complaints. In the meantime, here’s what my fellow bloggers have to say about this important development:

The other big story of the week – also at the Supreme Court – was the oral argument in New Process Steel v. NLRB, which will decide the legality of decisions rendered over the last couple of years by a two-member NLRB. The following blogs have this issue covered from every angle:

In other developments this week…

Social Media

Labor Relations

Harassment & Investigations

EEO & Discrimination

HR Stuff


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