The Supreme Court today ruled that employees can use statistical estimates of underpayment for their work. The case involved Tyson's failure to pay meat processing employees adequately for donning and doffing protective gear before and after leaving the production room.
In a class action lawsuit, Tyson argued that it would be unfair to use estimates of underpayment. The employees argued that courts have been using this method for many years; and in any event, employers have an obligation to track employee work time. Failure to do so should not result in an employer not paying its workers.
Today, the Court ruled 6-2 in favor of the employees. Justice Kennedy wrote the opinion (somewhat of a surprise). He and Chief Justice Roberts joined Justices Somotmayor, Gisnburg, Kagan, and Breyer.
What does the ruling mean? 1. The Court is not in a state of paralysis with a 4-to-4 split between conservative and liberal justices. 2. The nation's wage-and-hour law was strengthened., and 3. Class action lawsuits still have some traction, a win for the little guy.
No comments:
Post a Comment