Workers cannot use the Fair Labor Standards Act to recover unpaid straight-time from an overtime week, a federal appeals court has ruled. Such “overtime gap time” refers to straight-time hours in a week with overtime — for example, where an employee who is scheduled to work less than 40 hours actually works more than 40 hours but is not paid for the straight-time hours between his scheduled hours and the overtime hours.
In Secretary of Labor v. Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services, the Third Circuit emphasized that the FLSA guarantees minimum wage and overtime, not payment for non-overtime hours in overtime weeks. If an employer does not pay the agreed amount for overtime gap hours, workers may pursue their claims under state law or contract theories, the Third Circuit stated.
In jurisdictions that follow the Third Circuit’s approach, plaintiffs may increasingly add state wage payment claims. The issue eventually may wind up at the Supreme Court because the Fourth Circuit has taken a different view.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here. CWC’s online course Fundamentals of Wage and Hour Compliance offers a broader review of wage and hour compliance fundamentals.