When considering wage and hour issues, it’s easy to simply think in terms of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, commonly referred to as the FLSA. The FLSA establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in both the private and public sectors. However, many states, including Ohio, have their own wage-and-hour laws that provide additional protections and requirements. A recent decision from the Sixth Circuit serves as a reminder that employers should be conscious of both state-level wage and hour laws.
Busk v. Integrity Staffing Solutions was a case brought by Amazon employees claiming that they were not being fairly compensated for time spent in security screenings. As alleged by Plaintiffs, the screenings were required before employees left the work buildings to prevent employee theft and were thus for the exclusive benefit of the employer. However, these screenings always took place after the employees had clocked out and were thus uncompensated.
The case was originally brought in the District Court of Nevada, which granted a motion to dismiss filed by Defendants. The case was appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which affirmed the District Court ruling. Finally, the case was heard by the US Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court found that security screenings were “non-compensable postliminary actives” under the Portal-to-Portal Act. The Portal-to-Portal Act is an amendment to the FLSA which narrowed the coverage of the FLSA by excluding certain preliminary and postliminary activities from the FLSA’s compensation requirements. This would normally come as a huge relief to employers only concerned with FLSA compliance. However, the Supreme Court then remanded the remaining state law claims back to the District Court of Nevada, which transferred the case to Western District of Kentucky (which is why the Sixth Circuit heard the appeal).
Interpreting Nevada state law, the Sixth Circuit held that neither incorporate the Portal-to-Portal Act’s “postliminary activities” analysis. Meaning that though the screenings were not compensable under federal law, they were compensable under Nevada state law. This meant that though they had avoided running afoul of federal-level wage-and-hour laws, Defendants failed to property consider their obligations under state-level laws.
Ohio’s wage and hour laws differ in a few ways from the FLSA. For instance, minimum wage in Ohio is currently $8.30, while federal minimum wage is currently $7.25. And in Ohio, all employees must be paid at least twice a month unless the employee is exempt from overtime labor laws, those employees must be paid at least once a month. Generally, whether federal or state law applies will be determined by which offers the greater rights or benefits to the employee.
The Busk v. Integrity Staffing Solutions case serves as an important reminder for employers to be aware of the differences in federal and state law when considering compliance matters of all types.
Attorneys at Fishel Downey Albrecht & Riepenhoff LLP routinely advise and defend employers regarding wage and hour compliance. For questions about this case or any other matter, please contact Benjamin Albrecht (balbrecht@fisheldowney.com) or Stephanie Schoolcraft (sschoolcraft@fisheldowney.com) by email or phone (614) 221-1216.