Scheduling
Time & Attendance
Forecasting
Employee App
Payroll Integrations
Communications
Legal
By James Denis
May. 7, 2010
When hired by ADT Security Services Inc. in December 2008 as “resales” representatives, Sharon Randolph and Tami Thompson were told they would be paid a salary during their training and thereafter would be paid on a commission basis. After receiving their first paychecks, they complained to management that they had not been fully compensated and, in response, were warned to stop complaining or they might get in trouble. Randolph and Thompson filed a complaint with Maryland’s state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, alleging unpaid wages and unpaid overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
After it was notified of that agency complaint, ADT fired both women for providing confidential compensation information to the state agency.
Randolph and Thompson sued ADT in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, alleging that their terminations violated Maryland’s “abusive discharge” law and the anti-retaliation provisions of the FLSA.
ADT moved for dismissal, arguing that Randolph’s and Thompson’s complaints to the state agency did not constitute protected complaints under FLSA and that because they were commission-based employees, they were not eligible to file a complaint under either the FLSA or the Maryland wage-and-hour laws.
In rejecting ADT’s arguments, the court found that the FLSA protects “any complaint or … any proceeding under or related to this chapter.” Therefore, the district court held that the plaintiffs did not need to have an actionable claim under other sections of the FLSA in order to make them eligible to bring a retaliation claim under the complaint clause. Randolph v. ADT Sec. Servs. Inc., D. Md., No. 09-1790 (3/24/10).
Impact: Firing an employee who has made any complaint about wages or overtime pay could subject the employer to liability for retaliation under the FLSA’s complaint clause as well as applicable state law.
Workforce Management, May 2010, p. 10 — Subscribe Now!
Come see what we’re building in the world of predictive employee scheduling, superior labor insights and next-gen employee apps. We’re on a mission to automate workforce management for hourly employees and bring productivity, optimization and engagement to the frontline.
Compliance
Minimum Wage by State in 2023 – All You Need to KnowSummary Twenty-three states and D.C. raised their minimum wage rates in 2023, effective January 1. Thr...
federal law, minimum wage, pay rates, state law, wage law compliance
Legal
New Labor Laws Taking Effect in 2023The new year is fast approaching, and with its arrival comes a host of new labor laws that will impact ...
labor laws, minimum wage, wage and hour law
Legal
Wage and Hour Laws in 2022: What Employers Need to KnowWhether a mom-and-pop shop with a handful of employees or a large corporation staffing thousands, compl...
compliance, wage and hour law