29 U.S.C. § 259 — Reliance in future on administrative rulings, etc.

submitted 79 years ago by ch. 52 to r/title-29-LABOR · 267 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

This law protects employers for pay violations that happened on or after May 14, 1947. An employer is protected if it relied in good faith on a named agency's written ruling. Which agency counts depends on which wage law is involved.

(a) An employer cannot be held liable or punished for failing to pay minimum wage or overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Walsh-Healey Act, or the Bacon-Davis Act, for an act or failure to act on or after May 14, 1947, if the employer proves it acted in good faith and relied on a written regulation, order, ruling, approval, interpretation, or enforcement practice from the specific agency named in subsection (b) that applied to its type of business. This defense fully bars the lawsuit, even if that ruling or practice is later changed, canceled, or found invalid by a court. (b) The agency that must have issued the ruling is: (1) for the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor; (2) for the Walsh-Healey Act, the Secretary of Labor or any federal officer the Secretary used to administer that Act; and (3) for the Bacon-Davis Act, the Secretary of Labor.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a)

In any action or proceeding based on any act or omission on or after May 14, 1947, no employer shall be subject to any liability or punishment for or on account of the failure of the employer to pay minimum wages or overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended [29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.], the Walsh-Healey Act, or the Bacon-Davis Act,1 if he pleads and proves that the act or omission complained of was in good faith in conformity with and in reliance on any written administrative regulation, order, ruling, approval, or interpretation, of the agency of the United States specified in subsection (b) of this section, or any administrative practice or enforcement policy of such agency with respect to the class of employers to which he belonged. Such a defense, if established, shall be a bar to the action or proceeding, notwithstanding that after such act or omission, such administrative regulation, order, ruling, approval, interpretation, practice, or enforcement policy is modified or rescinded or is determined by judicial authority to be invalid or of no legal effect.

(b)

The agency referred to in subsection (a) shall be—

(1)

in the case of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended [29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.]—the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor;

(2)

in the case of the Walsh-Healey Act—the Secretary of Labor, or any Federal officer utilized by him in the administration of such Act; and

(3)

in the case of the Bacon-Davis Act ¹—the Secretary of Labor.

Source credit: (May 14, 1947, ch. 52, § 10, 61 Stat. 89.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1947Enacted · Act of May 14, 1947, ch. 52 · 61 Stat. 89

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by ch. 52 on 1947-05-14.

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