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Lewis Massey - Massey, Watson & Hembree
Eleventh Circuit Rules for Plaintiffs in FLSA Case
July 23, 2013
On July 16, 2013, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals handed down an important decision supporting the claims of Plaintiffs who had sued their employer for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. The FLSA protects workers from being paid less than the federally mandated minimum wage, and it also mandates additional compensation for overtime work.
The FLSA only gives these protections to “employees.” The district court had ruled against the plaintiffs, concluding that they were “independent contractors” and not “employees.” The Court of Appeals reversed and held that a more liberal test has to be used under the FLSA to determine whether a worker is to be considered an employee, and that determination is based on the economic realities of the situation. Scantland v. Jeffry Knight, Inc., ____ F.3d ____ (11th Cir. 2013).