Formality rejected

In a divided opinion, (Breyer) the Supreme Court has decided that a written complaint is not a necessary prerequisite to a retaliation claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Court refused to decide whether the complaint must be filed with  a court or the government, (as dissenters Scalia and Thomas urged) because the Employer did not raise the issue in its Petition for Certiorari. Nevertheless, much of the reasoning in the majority opinion would support the position that an internal complaint would also be protected by the anti-retaliation provisions.