Melton v. Tippecanoe Cnty.

Melton working in the Tippecanoe County Surveyor’s Office, asked his supervisor if he could take a class during work hours and make up the time by taking short lunches and coming in early. His supervisor responded that Melton could take the class, but due to concerns about tracking time and supervision, he would have to treat the time as unpaid or vacation time. Melton agreed. When his class began, Melton worked through lunch and came in early for a week. Melton was paid for the additional time, but was terminated for failing to follow his supervisor’s order. Melton filed suit, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 207(a), and the Indiana Wage Claim law, claiming that when he put his actual time worked on his timecard, the secretary would reduce his hours, telling him that he could not be paid for more than 37.5 hours in a workweek. The county argued that Melton was paid for the time he certified, his recollection was “demonstrably unreliable,” and he did not pursue remedies through the county. The district court granted the county summary judgment, finding that Melton had only designated 100 minutes of uncompensated time, which did not establish a FLSA violation because Melton had not shown that he worked more than 40 hours per week. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, noting that Melton had chosen not to respond to the county’s allegation that his evidence was implausible. View "Melton v. Tippecanoe Cnty." on Justia Law