Employer Properly Removed FLSA Action To Federal Court

Breuer v. Jim’s Concrete of Brevard, Inc., 538 U.S. 691, 123 S. Ct. 1882 (2003)

Phillip T. Breuer sued Jim’s Concrete, his former employer, in Florida state court for unpaid wages, liquidated damages, interest and attorney’s fees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which provides that such an action “may be maintained… in any Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction.” Jim’s Concrete removed the case to federal court, and in response, Breuer filed a motion to remand the action to state court on the theory that the FLSA is an exception to the general rule that actions arising under federal statutes may be removed to federal court. In order to resolve a conflict among the circuit courts, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari and held that an action arising under the FLSA is removable to federal court since there is no express prohibition of removal in the statute.