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Kasten alleged that he was discharged in retaliation
for making oral complaints to his superiors that the employer's placement of
time clocks violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA's
anti-retaliation provision prohibits employers "to discharge ... any
employee because such employee has filed any complaint" alleging a
violation of the Act.The US Supreme Court held
(6-2) that the scope of the statutory term "filed any complaint"
includes oral, as well as written, complaints.
The Court could not rely on the text of
the Act alone, so the Court looked to other factors: FLSA's basic objectives,
interpretation by the Secretary of Labor, consistency with the interpretation of
the National Labor Relations Act.
The DISSENT argued that the FLSA's
retaliation provision does not cover complaints to the employer at all, and
covers only complaints to a court or government agency.
Case below: Kasten
v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp (7th Cir 07/29/2009); rehearing
en banc denied [with dissenting opinion] (7th Cir 11/15/2009)
Official docket sheet
Certiorari granted March 22, 2010.
Oral argument:
October 13, 2010. [Transcript]
[Audio]
Question presented:
Is an oral complaint of a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act protected conduct
under the anti-retaliation provision, 29 U.S.C. § 215(a)(3)?
Certiorari Documents:
Briefs on the merits:
- Brief
for Petitioner Kevin Kasten
- Brief
for Respondent Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, Corp
- Reply
Brief for Petitioner Kevin Kasten
- Brief
for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial
Organizations in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for the United States of America in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Asian American
Justice Center, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Equal Justice
Society, National Partnership for Women & Families, and National
Women's Law Center in Support of Petitioner
- Brief
for the National Employment Law Project, Interfaith Worker Justice,
Legal Aid Society, Legal Momentum, National Domestic Workers Alliance,
National Employment Lawyers Association, Restaurant Opportunities Center
United, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Southern Poverty Law Center,
California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc., United Food and Commercial
Workers International Union, and the Equal Justice Center in Support of
Petitioner
- Brief
for the Equal Employment Advisory Council, National Association of
Manufacturers, and the National Federation of Independent Business Small
Business Legal Center in Support of Respondent
Counsel:
For Respondent: Thomas
P. Godar; Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek
SC; 33 East Main Street, Suite 300; Madison, WI 53703; tgodar@whdlaw.com;
(608) 255-444.
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