Government Stiffed ‘Essential’ Workers Until After Shutdown, in Violation of FLSA

The federal government violated the Fair Labor Standards Act when it failed to pay “essential” employees on their regularly scheduled payday during the government shutdown of 2013 and instead paid them two weeks later, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims held July 31 (Martin v. United States, 2014 BL 212785).

Five federal employees filed a lawsuit last October, seeking liquidated damages for the late payments. Judge Patricia E. Campbell-Smith denied the government’s motion to dismiss, instead finding it had violated the statute. She did not make a determination as to damages, saying that issue will be decided after ...