Press & News

Rob Carty Published in The Houston Lawyer
11/02/2006

Rob Carty’s article on the new popularity of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), “The Suddenly En Vogue FLSA: After 50 Years As a Wallflower, She’s Finally Ready to Dance,” was published in the September/October issue of the Houston Lawyer.

The author cite that suits filed under the FLSA, enacted nearly 70 years ago to regulate wages, working hours, and child labor, have more than doubled since 2001. Most current lawsuits focus on one of two overtime issues: whether an hourly employee has received all the overtime to which he or she is entitled; and “misclassification,” or whether the employee may be paid by salary (as opposed to an hourly wage) and thus be exempt from the overtime requirements.

Despite regulations to update some of the antiquated aspects of FLSA -- mainly the 1994 Department of Labor’s first significant revisions of the FLSA regulations in more than 50 years -- confusion still exists over issues such as overtime exemption. In fact, say the authors, the sweeping changes may themselves be a cause of increased litigation: businesses and courts are notoriously slow to react to major policy changes. The DOL changes caused many workers previously considered “exempt” from the overtime provisions of the FLSA to become “non-exempt” overnight, setting off a deluge of suits that have affected every major industry. The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division has also been aggressive in filing many suits against employers for overtime violations.

“In the end, this increased government scrutiny, including the DOL’s commitment to raising public awareness about FLSA issues (particularly those dealing with wages and working hours vis-à-vis a worker’s authority and responsibilities), probably also means increased government involvement with FLSA compliance across all industries. Coupled with the already upward-trending pattern of FLSA lawsuits nationally and in the Southern District, the FLSA is not slowing down in her old age. To the contrary, she is more popular than ever before and it looks like her dance card will be full for some time to come.”