Employee may amend FLSA complaint to add retaliation claim
An employee who filed an FLSA suit was granted leave to amend his complaint to add a retaliation claim after his employer filed a counterclaim alleging misappropriation of confidential information, breach of fiduciary duty, and other claims. Although the employee was not fired, he alleged damage to his reputation, intimidation, legal costs and delay. These harms, if proven, were sufficient to establish an adverse impact on his employment or prospective employment in order to support a retaliation claim, a federal district court in New York held (Fei v WESTLB AG, SDNY, 155 LC ¶35,406).

In addition, the employee's retaliation claim was not substantively futile. He pleaded sufficient facts to show a causal connection between his filing the FLSA suit and the adverse action by the employer. In particular, the employee introduced witness testimony that the employer only began to investigate the employee's alleged misconduct after it was served with the complaint. Therefore, the court granted the employee's motion to amend.

For more information on this and other topics, consult CCH Employment Practices Guide or CCH Labor Relations.