On November 23, 2015, the Georgia Supreme Court issued a ruling with a potentially wide-reaching impact on Georgia employers. In Anderson, et al. v. Southern Home Health Care Services, et al., the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that employees who take care of elderly and disabled people in their homes are entitled to receive Georgia’s minimum wage pursuant to the Georgia Minimum Wage Law (“GMWL”) despite the fact that their employers were covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and despite the fact that the employees themselves fell under FLSA exemptions for domestic workers.
On November 23, 2015, the Georgia Supreme Court issued a ruling with a potentially wide-reaching impact on Georgia employers. In Anderson, et al. v. Southern Home Health Care Services, et al., the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that employees who take care of elderly and disabled people in their homes are entitled to receive Georgia’s minimum wage pursuant to the Georgia Minimum Wage Law (“GMWL”) despite the fact that their employers were covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and despite the fact that the employees themselves fell under FLSA exemptions for domestic workers.
The Anderson case involved a multi-state home health care company that employed persons to provide in-home non-medical services to elderly and disabled persons. The employee/plaintiffs who filed suit traveled from home-to-home to provide services during the work day. They alleged that they earned less than minimum wage because they did not get paid for the time they traveled during the work day between job sites.
The employees who brought suit fell squarely within an FLSA exemption for domestic workers and thus were not able to proceed under the federal law. Since the FLSA provided them with no protection, the employees filed suit alleging that even though they were not covered under the federal law, they were still entitled to protection under Georgia law. Under Georgia’s little-used minimum wage law, employees must be paid at least $5.15 per hour – $2.10 less per hour than the current federal minimum wage. Despite the fact their employer was subject to the FLSA, the Georgia Supreme Court found that the employees at issue were still entitled to minimum wage protections under Georgia law.
What this decision means for Georgia employers is not yet clear. It is definitely not the norm for Georgia law to provide employees with a benefit greater than the benefit they receive under federal law. It also still remains to be seen how the Anderson decision will impact employees that fall under other FLSA exemptions, such as the administrative exemption. We will continue to monitor subsequent rulings applying the Anderson decision and will keep you updated on any developments.
Speaking of new developments, employers should be aware that changes to the FLSA’s overtime regulations have been published by the Department of Labor and will most likely go into effect later in 2016. If and when they become effective, they will substantially increase the minimum salary required for the so-called “white collar” exemptions currently available under the FLSA, among other things. We will provide more guidance when – and if – the proposed FLSA changes become law.