CAN MY BOSS FIRE ME FOR COMPLAINING THAT I SHOULD BE GETTING OVERTIME?
No. The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who “file” a claim complaining about violations of the Act. The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that this prohibition covers internal, unwritten complaints to management as well as lawsuits and written complaints. Check out the case on the Hayber, McKenna & Dinsmore website.
The tricky part about this provision is that the law specifically states “file” a claim, which seems to mean complain in writing. The Supreme Court’s ruling explained that the FLSA was intended to protect workers who might have difficulty with a written complaint, and so the Act should be interpreted broadly.