In the case of Drowatzky v. ADT LLC., Nicholas Drowatzky filed a collective action lawsuit against ADT for violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Drowatzky worked as a call-center employee for ADT. He claimed that he and other employees worked unpaid “off-the-clock” hours in addition to their regular scheduled shifts. Drowatzky filed one claim under the FLSA for unpaid overtime wages and a class-action claim under the Kansas Wage Payment Act (KWPA) for unpaid wages.
ADT sought to dismiss Drowatzky’s KWPA claims arguing that the FLSA preempted the KWPA claim. The court explained that the FLSA preempts any claim for minimum or overtime wages under the KWPA. Drowatzky agreed but argued that a KWPA claim for unpaid straight time should not be preempted by the FLSA. The court disagreed and concluded that Drowatzky failed to state a plausible claim under the KWPA for “straight-time” because the KWPA does not provide substantive rights but only a mechanism to recover wages.
Ultimately, the court dismissed Drowatzky’s claims without prejudice.
Key lessons from this case:
- If a claim for overtime wages falls under the scope of the FLSA, it cannot be pursued solely under the KWPA.
- Dismissal without prejudice allows an employee the opportunity to amend the complaint or provide an additional basis for unpaid overtime pay claims.
- An employee must provide a substantive basis for the claim. This can include a contractual agreement or other legal basis for the wages being due.
If you want to know more about overtime regulations, read our guide on Kansas Overtime Laws.
