In 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States and several state Supreme Courts issued significant labor and employment law decisions. As a new year begins, employers should be aware of the following labor and employment cases that may set important precedents in 2012:
Federal Health Care Reform Litigation
In March 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States is scheduled to hear argument in three consolidated challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the 2010 federal health care reform law. The Court will consider whether the law's mandate that individuals buy health insurance or pay a penalty is constitutional, whether the individual mandate may be severed from the rest of the statute if found unconstitutional, and whether the Anti-Injunction Act bars a pre-implementation challenge to the individual mandate. The Court's resolution of these issues will directly affect the costs of health care coverage for employers and their employees.
Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp.
In this case, the Supreme Court of the United States will address a growing circuit split on the question of whether pharmaceutical sales representatives are covered by the outside sales exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). All employers should keep a close eye on the decision, which will be the Court's first interpretation of the "white collar" exemptions to the FLSA. The Court's decision will also provide insight regarding the level of deference that should be afforded to the Department of Labor's recent administrative efforts to narrow the white collar exemptions.
Brinker International, Inc. v. Superior Court
This case pending before the Supreme Court of California makes our list of matters to watch for the third straight year, and a decision is expected in early 2012. The central issue is whether California employers must ensure that employees actually take statutorily-required meal breaks, or need only ensure that the required breaks are made available to employees. A pro-employee ruling may create significant implementation challenges for employers, and may lead to a spike in wage and hour litigation regarding break periods.
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