Fair Labor Standards Act dilemma.

On February 19, the Supreme Court decided another important federalism case, Auer vs. Robbins. At issue were questions related to the application of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to state and local government.

In Auer, sergeants and lieutenants in the St. Louis police department sued the Board of Police Commissioners for overtime pay. The police board argued that as supervisory personnel, the sergeants and lieutenants were exempt from the FLSA as "bona fide executive, administrative or professional employees." The Court agreed but on very narrow grounds that largely leave intact the very tight definition by the U.S. Secretary of Labor of the "executive, administrative and...