A New Jersey Federal District Court recently allowed a terminated employee’s FLSA retaliation claim to proceed where: (1) he had made an oral complaint about his employer’s failure to pay overtime, not a written one; and (2) he had received the overtime wages following the employer’s settlement with the NJ Department of Labor. Goldsmid v. Lee Rain Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. Lexis 14737 (D.N.J. 2014).

Goldsmid worked hourly for Lee Rain, Inc. and then was moved to a fixed salary, but was never paid overtime for his 45-hour workweek in a warehouse.  He realized that this violated the FLSA and began to complain, and shared this information with his coworkers.  He was fired.

Shortly thereafter he contacted the NJ Department of Labor which ultimately entered into a settlement with Lee Rain for the overtime violation.  Lee Rain paid Goldsmid his overtime wages.   Goldsmid then sued Lee Rain for damages alleging that the initial failure to pay overtime violated the FLSA.

The District Court refused to dismiss the case.  It held that Goldsmid was not a party to the settlement agreement, and therefore his suit was not barred by res judicata.  It held that Goldsmid’s job in the warehouse did not fall under the statutory overtime exemption at 29 U.S.C. 207.  Finally, the court held that an oral complaint was sufficient to trigger a valid FLSA claim, citing Kasten v. Saint-Gobain, 131 S.Ct. 1325 (2011).