| Description |
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was implemented by Congress in 1938 in an attempt to assure most workers of an adequate minimum wage and payment for overtime wbrk' FLSA § 15(a)(3) was enacted to protect employees from retaliatory discharges based upon the reporting of violations of the substantive FLSA provisions In Saffels v. Rice, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit extended protection to employees who were dismissed based on the employer's mistaken belief the employee reported violations of the law to the authorities based on both FLSA § 15(a)(3) and Missouri's common law public policy exception to the at-will employment doctrine. The court, by extending protection to employees who have taken no protected action, removed analysis under FLSA § 15(a)(3) from the plain language of the statute.' Furthermore, the court allowed the plaintiff employees to proceed under both FLSA § 15(a)(3) and Missouri's common law public policy exception to the at-will employment doctrine, thus becoming the first court to hold § 15(a)(3) does not preempt the public policy exception. (Description from Source) |