a Garcia v. San Antonio Metro: Application of the FLSA to State and Local Governments by TimCo몭eldAttorney | Nov 26, 2021 | Supreme Court |
In Garcia v. San Antonio Metro. Transit Auth., 469 U.S. 528, 105 S. Ct. 1005 (1985), the Supreme Court held that Congress had power under the Commerce Clause to apply the Fair Labor Standards Act to a municipal transit authority. The case is important because it overruled a previous landmark decision and clari몭ed that the FLSA’s federal minimum wage and overtime provisions can lawfully apply to state and local government employees.
Background The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. This amendment is often referred to as the “states rights” amendment. It expresses the principle of federalism, in which the federal government only has the powers given to it by the Constitution. All other powers not prohibited to the states by the Constitution are reserved to the states, or the people. The Fair Labor Standards Act is the federal law requiring covered employers to pay minimum wages and overtime compensation to certain categories of employees. In National League of Cities v. Usery, 426 U.S. 833, 96 S.Ct. 2465 (1976), the Supreme Court considered the FLSA in light of the Tenth Amendment. In that case, the Court