JDSupra (05/09/2012)

In Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., the U.S. Supreme Court altered how complaints are filed by employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Courts previously ruled that statutory language indicates that complaints must be filed in writing for employees to be protected by the law’s antiretaliation provisions, but in this case, the court ruled that oral complaints as part of the company’s internal grievance procedure were considered filed and gave the employee protection against retaliation. Experts say employers must pay close attention to the issue because courts are likely to further broaden the scope of filed complaints.