In every FLSA class action I have defended (as well as every demand letter I have seen on this subject) the plaintiff’s lawyer always alleges that the violations were “willful.” It does not matter what the facts are. No, they say, the violations are “always” willful. The violations rarely, in fact, are. Now, the Third Circuit has given defense practitioners some added ammunition to beat back these allegations. The case is entitled Souryavong v. Lackawanna Cty. and issued from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Court made clear that to allege that the employer acted only “unreasonably” is insufficient and that a degree of “actual awareness is necessary.” The Court held that this is so even if the employer produces insufficient evidence of good faith. The Court explained “a jury question on willfulness is present when [an employer] is well aware of the FLSA’s structures, sets up a bureaucracy to classify pay and benefits and properly calculate overtime, and then despite all that allows a misclassification of a monthly payment to continue for nine years.”

The Court explained that for a plaintiff (or class) to prevail, the plaintiff “must put forward at least some evidence of the employer’s awareness of a violation of the FLSA overtime mandate.”  In other words, even if the employer cannot produce sufficient evidence of good faith, the plaintiff must prove that the employer intentionally violated applicable laws.

The Court noted that it was a truism that the employer must establish good faith, but it remained the plaintiff’s burden to show intentionality, i.e. that the employer either actually knew that it was violating the law or acted with reckless disregard.

The Takeaway

Employers must do everything possible to comply with the law. Employers should address potential wage-hour violations in a prompt manner and effect the appropriate remedies.  This will blunt the effect of any allegations of willfulness. We recommend that employers regularly conduct wage and hour audits to make sure that employees are properly classified as either exempt or non-exempt and that non-exempt employees are paid overtime in accordance with the law. In addition, such an audit will include an overview and analysis of all of the employer’s compensation and wage-hour practices.

That’s the cure for willfulness…

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