Fifth Circuit Rules in Another FLSA Matter
// Dallas, Texas, United States // Attorney Keith Clouse (Blog) // Keith Clouse
In a recent Fair Labor Standards Act case, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that an employer did not violate the overtime wage requirements by using a Monday through Sunday workweek to calculate overtime compensation. Johnson v. Heckmann Water Res., Inc., No. 13-40824 (5th Cir. July 14, 2014), available at http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C13/13-40824-CV0.pdf.
The employer paid its employees biweekly using a Monday through Sunday “workweek” to calculate overtime under the FLSA. The plaintiffs worked twelve-hour shifts for seven consecutive days beginning every other Thursday; one started at 6:00 p.m. and the other started at 6:00 a.m. Because of this, one employee received four hours of overtime pay per pay period and the other received eight hours of overtime pay per pay period. The plaintiffs asserted the workweek should have begun on Thursday, thereby entitling both to forty-four hours of overtime compensation each paycheck. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment for the employer.
The court noted that the FLSA does not define “workweek.” And, nothing in the governing regulations required the employer to use the plaintiffs’ proposed workweek. The court determined that the mere fact that an established workweek does not maximize an employee’s overtime compensation does not, standing alone, violate the FLSA.
This article is presented by the Dallas employment lawyers at Clouse Dunn LLP. For inquiries or additional information about the FLSA, send an email to debra@clousedunn.com or call (214) 239-2705.
Contact Keith Clouse
KEITH A. CLOUSE
Clouse Dunn LLP
214.220.2722 214.220.3833 ( fax) keith@clousedunn.com
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