Addressing an undecided issue under state law, the Supreme Court of Maryland recently held that the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) de minimis doctrine, which allows employers to exclude insignificant amounts of time from compensable work hours, applies to Maryland’s Wage Payment and Collection Law and the Maryland Wage and Hour Law.
The FLSA requires employers to pay employees for all hours worked; the FLSA, however, does not define “work.” The Supreme Court of the United States has sought to provide guidance, and, in the 1946 case of Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Company, it recognized the de minimis rule, which allowed employers to disregard small amounts of time that employees spend on work-related tasks when calculating their total hours worked. According to the Court, “Split-second absurdities are not justified by the actualities of working conditions or by the policy of the [FLSA]. It is only when an employee is required to give up a substantial measure of his time and effort that compensable working time is involved.” The U.S. Department of Labor subsequently issued regulations under the FLSA, which included the following provision, 29 C.F.R. § 785.47:
In recording working...
The Campbell’s Co. (NASDAQ:CPB) has taken action against a senior executive following allegations of disparaging remarks about the company and its products. Trending Investment Products Advertiseme...