BRIAN J GRABER LLC is a federal wage & hour retaliation lawyer representing employees in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan fired or otherwise retaliated against by their employers for insisting on their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act to minimum wages and overtime pay. The Fair Labor Standards Act, (FLSA), is the federal wage & hour law requiring covered employers to pay non-exempt employees minimum wages and overtime. The Fair Labor Standards Act, FLSA, 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3) makes it unlawful for employers to discharge or otherwise retaliate against their employees who insist upon their rights to be paid minimum wages and overtime.
Federal Right to Minimum Wages
Currently, minimum wages in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan are as follows:
- Illinois minimum wage is $15.00 per hour, (As of 1/1/25).
- Indiana minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.
- Michigan minimum wage is $10.56 per hour as of 1/1/25, (increasing to $12.48 on 2/21/25).
Federal wage & hour law, (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 206 requires covered employers to pay nonexempt employees in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan the above-described minimum wages. Click here to learn more about your rights under the federal wage and hour law to minimum wages. Click here to learn more about your rights under the Illinois wage & hour laws. Click here to learn more about your rights under the Indiana wage & hour law to minimum wages.
Federal Right to Overtime Pay
The Fair Labor Standards Act, (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 207 requires covered employers to pay nonexempt employees in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan overtime at the rate of not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for every hour worked over forty hours in a workweek. Click here to learn more about your rights under the federal wage and hour law to overtime pay. Click here to learn more about your rights to overtime pay under the Illinois wage & hour laws. Click here to learn more about your rights under the Indiana wage & hour law to overtime pay.
Federal Protection From Wage & Hour Retaliation
Federal wage & hour law under the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. 215 provides employees with protection from retaliation for insisting on their rights to be paid minimum wages and overtime pay as follows:
it shall be unlawful for any person – to discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this chapter, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding, or has served or is about to serve on an industry committee;
Fair Labor Standards Act Anti-Retaliation Provision, 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3).
The federal wage & hour law’s anti-retaliation provision, (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3) is broadly written to protect employees not only from a retaliatory discharge but also any other type of retaliation short of actual termination. Managers responsible for retaliation may be made defendants under 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3).
Wage & Hour Retaliation Buredn of Proof
An employee claiming he or she was retaliated against in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3) must prove the following elements:
- He/she engaged in “protected activity” under the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3);
- The employer took “adverse employment action” against him/her; and
- a causal link exists between the “protected activity” and the “adverse employment action.”
Protected Activity Under the FLSA
“Protected activity” under the federal wage & hour law, (FLSA), generally includes the following activities:
- Filing a lawsuit against your employer to recoever unpaid minimum wages and/or unpaid overtime pay.
- Filing an administrative complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division to recover unpaid minimum wages and/or unpaid overtime pay.
- Testifying in a lawsuit in court or an administrative hearing before the U.S. Department of Labor pertaining to an employer’s violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- Making an intenal written or oral report to your employer regarding unpaid minimum wages and/or unpaid overtime or some other violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
In Kasten v. Sait-Gobin Performance Plastics Corp., 563 U.S. 1, 17 (2011) the U.S Supreme found that the term “filed any complaint” in 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3) includes oral complaints. Therefore, an employee making an oral complaint to his or her employer about unpaid minimum wages and/or unpaid overtime in violation of the FLSA has likely engaged in protected activity. However, to fall within the scope of the anti-retaliation provision, the U.S. Supreme Court held as follows:
a complaint must be sufficiently clear and detailed for a reasonable emploiyer to understand it, in light of both content and context, as an assertion of rights protected by the statute and a call for their protection. This standard can be met, however, by oral complaints, as well as written ones.
Kasten v. Sait-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., 563 U.S. 1, 14 (2011).
For an employee’s conduct to be protected, he or she must have a good-faith belief that the employer violated the FLSA and the belief must be objectively reasonable. See Sloan v. AM. Brain Tumor Ass’n., 901 F.3d 891, 895 (7th Cir. 2018). A complaint to management that does not refer to the FLSA is not necessarily fatal. See Sloan, 901 F.3d at 894. If you believe that you were fired or otherwise retaliated against by your employer for making an internal oral or written complaint to management about unpaid minimum wages and/or unpaid overtime pay contact BRIAN J GRABER LLC, a federal wage & hour retaliation lawyer for a free confidential consultation at the Illinois office: (312) 291-4648 or the Indiana office: (574) 395-5189 or Michigan: (269) 230-6054.
Filing a lawsuit against your employer or filing an administrative complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division for unpaid minimum wages and/or unpaid overtime are protected activities under the federal wage & hour law, (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3). Click here to learn how to file an administrative complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor against your employer for unpaid minimum wages and/or overtime pay and engage in “protected activity” under federal wage & hour law, (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3). Click here to learn how to file a lawsuit against your employer for unpaid minimum wages and/or unpaid overtime and engage in “protected activity” under federal wage & hour law. If you believe that you were terminated or otherwise retaliated against by your employer for filing an administrative complaint or filing a lawsuit against your employer for unpaid minimum wages and/or unpaid overtime pay, contact BRIAN J GRABER LLC, a federal wage & hour retaliation lawyer, for a free confidential consultation at the Illinois office: (312) 291-4648 or the Indiana office: (574) 395-5189 or Michigan: (269) 230-6054.
Testifying about an employer’s violations of the federal wage & hour law, (FLSA), at an administrative hearing before the U.S. Department of Labor or in a private lawsuit filed in the courts is protected activity under 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3). If you believe you were fired or otherwise retaliated against by your employer for testifying at an administrative hearing with or a lawsuit about your employer’s violations of the federal wage & hour law, contact BRIAN J GRABER LLC, a federal wage & hour retaliation lawyer, for a free confidential consultation at the Illinois office: (312) 291-4648 or the Indiana office: (574) 395-5189 or Michigan: (269) 230-6054.
Illinois employees have broader protections from wage & hour retaliation. Click here to learn more about the broader protections from wage & hour retaliation under Illinois law provided to employees performing work in the State of Illinois.
Remedies for FLSA Retaliation
An employee who proves he or she was retaliated against by his employer in violation of federal wage & hour law, (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3) is entitled to the remedies or damages. The remedies available to a successful employee include the following:
Any employer who violates the provisions of section 215(a)(3) of this title shall be liable for such legal and equitable relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes of section 215(a)(3) of this title, including without limitation employment, reinstatement, promotion, and the payment of wages lost and an additional amount as liquidated damages . . . . The court in such action shall, in addition to any judgment awarded to the plaintiff or plaintiffs, allow a reasonable attorney’s fee to be paid by the defendant, and costs of the action.
Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 216(b).
Remedies under federal wage & hour law, 29 U.S.C. 216(b) include emotional distress caused by the employer’s retaliation and punitive damages. See Travis v. Gary Community Mental Health Center, Inc., 921 F.2d 108, 111 (7th Cir. 1990) (finding Congress amended Section 216(b) authorizing “legal” relief, a term commonly understood to include compensatory damages and punitive damages finding Section 216(b) supports the jury’s award of emotional distress and punitive damages). In Moore v. Freeman, 355 F.3d 558, 564 (6th Cir. 2004) the court held employers were compensatory damages for mental and emotional suffering from retaliation are recoverable under Section 216(b).
If you believe your employer fired or otherwise retaliated against you in violation of your rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3), contact BRIAN J GRABER LLC, a federal wage & hour retaliation lawyer, for a free confidential consultation at the Illinois office: (312) 291-4648 or the Indiana office: (574) 395-5189 or Michigan (269) 230-6054.