Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: The Supreme Court Considers Whether an Independent Agency with a Single Director Who Can Be Removed Only “For Cause” is Constitutional

RODGER CITRON

Rodger Citron, Associate Dean for Research & Scholarship and Professor of Law at Touro Law, comments on a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument this week that presents the question whether an independent agency with a single director who can be removed only “for cause” violates the separation of powers principle enshrined in the Constitution. Citron notes that the decision to hear the case is unusual in that there is no conflict among the federal appeals courts, but he points out that that the government’s support of the cert. petition and then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s dissent on the issue when it came before the D.C. Circuit likely helped the present case come before the Court.

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Scalia v. Employer Solutions Staffing Group, LLC

Docket: 18-16493

Opinion Date: March 2, 2020

Judge: Susan Graber

Areas of Law: Labor & Employment Law

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Secretary in an action against ESSG and three related companies under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Secretary challenged ESSG's failure to pay overtime to employees who worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The panel held that the district court correctly found no dispute of material fact as to ESSG's ultimate liability under the FLSA. Consistent with the law of agency, the panel imputed the actions of an employee to ESSG where she admitted that she knew the recruited employees were not being paid overtime owed to them. The panel also held that the three-year statute of limitations applied to the Secretary's claim that ESSG committed a willful violation, making this action timely. The panel affirmed the award of liquidated damages where ESSG's violations were willful and thus it did not act in good faith. Finally, the panel joined the Second Circuit in holding that the FLSA does not imply a right to contribution or indemnification for liable employers.