Workers Get Rare Victory Before U.S. Supreme Court

Workers got a rare victory before the business friendly U.S. Supreme Court. In the case of Kasten v. Saint-Gobain, the Court ruled that oral complaints can form the basis for a retaliation complaint. The case involved a worker who verbally complained that his employer was violating the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  Following his complaint, the company fired him .  Kasten sued claiming that his termination was wrongful as it violated the FLSA which prohibits retaliation for having filed any complaint alleging a violation of the FLSA. His employer argued that since the complaint was made only verbally, it was not protected activity under the anti-retaliation provision. In other words, the complaint needed to be in writing in order to receive the anti-retaliation legal protection. The Supreme Court disagreed and found that a verbal complaint deserved the same protection as a written one.