Letting stand a decision of the Court of Appeals of the Sixth Circuit, the Supreme Court has denied review of an emergency room nurse’s claim for overtime based on work allegedly performed during unpaid meal breaks. White v. Baptist Mem’l Health Care Corp., U.S., No. 13-107, cert. denied 10/7/13. Plaintiff urged the Supreme Court to review the appeals court’s holding that Plaintiff could not recover under the FLSA due to her failure to use the hospital’s “reasonable” process for reporting time worked, regardless of her allegation that she "occasionally told her supervisors that she was not getting her meal breaks."

Due to this denial, the White holding remains intact as FLSA precedent in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan. Employers in all jurisdictions – not just hospitals and health care institutions – must review their timekeeping policies, processes and protocol to prevent and/or limit claims similar to those asserted in White; a victory ending in cert denied imposes high costs on a business that can be avoided.