Pennsylvania District Court Holds PMWA and FLSA Claims Analyzed Under the Same Basic Framework

In Rummel v. Highmark, Inc., 2013 WL 6055082 (W.D. Pa.), Plaintiff, an employee at Defendant Highmark, Inc., alleged that Defendant failed to pay overtime wages in violation of the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act (“PMWA”) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Under both the PMWA and the FLSA, an employer is required to pay overtime to employees for hours worked over forty in a workweek. To state a claim under the FLSA, a plaintiff must allege that: “(1) the defendant was “engaged in commerce” as that phrase is defined by the FLSA; (2) the plaintiff was an ‘employee’ as defined by the FLSA; and (3) the plaintiff worked more than forty hours in a week but was not paid overtime compensation for the hours worked in excess of forty.”

The Court held that “because the PMWA parallels the FLSA in requiring employers to compensate employees for overtime hours worked and has identical standards of liability as the FLSA in overtime violation claims,” courts will analyze PMWA claims and FLSA claims under the same basic framework.

For more information, call our Philadelphia employment lawyers for Fair Labor Standards Act in Philadelphia and South Jersey at the Law Office of Sidkoff, Pincus & Green at 215-574-0600 or contact us online.