Just yesterday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a decision in a case involving the "fluctuating work week" ("FWW") method of paying overtime that has been percolating in the Commonwealth courts for almost six years. The Pennsylvania high court held that, although the U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed the validity of the FWW method under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), Pennsylvania has not incorporated it into state law; and its use in Pennsylvania is therefore not permitted.

The case is Chevalier v. General Nutrition Centers Inc. In it, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld a $1.7 million judgment against General Nutrition Centers ("GNC") in favor of a class of former store managers who had alleged they were shorted on overtime pay. GNC had used the FLSA's FWW method, which allows employers to pay employees whose hours fluctuate from week to week a salary that is intended to compensate them for all of the hours worked each week. If the employees work more than 40 hours in a week, then the designated salary is divided by the total number of hours worked that week to calculate the "regular rate," which is then divided in half and multiplied by the number of overtime hours to compensate the employees for the additional overtime pay due.

Okay, enough math for this blog—basically, the FWW method allows employers to pay overtime at a "half-time" rate because the underlying salary pays for all straight time due for the hours worked. (Note for math geeks: the FWW method causes employees to see a lower effective hourly rate and overtime rate as they work more hours.) This "half-time" method of paying overtime pay conflicts with the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act's requirement that overtime compensation be 1.5 times the regular rate of pay—at least that's what the state supreme court found.

So, as a side note for Pennsylvania employers, there's no need to concern yourselves with the brand-new proposed rule on the FWW method issued earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Our "simple" advice moving forward: Don't use the FWW method for employees in Pennsylvania.

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