Employment Law - Interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap in McCune v. Oregon Senior Services

Abstract

In McCune v. Oregon Senior Services the Ninth Circuit held that a group of domestic service employees were excluded from minimum wage coverage under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) as they performed companionship services for the elderly and infirm. The employees would have been entitled to minimum wage if the services they performed fell within an exception to the FLSA\u27s companionship services exemption. The Ninth Circuit based its decision on the Secretary of Labor\u27s interpretation of the 1974 amendments to the FLSA. The court found that these domestic service workers were not trained personnel and were merely employed in a companionship services capacity. Therefore, they were not covered by minimum wage provisions as the FLSA does not guarantee minimum wage to employees who are domestic companions