Gotham Registry is a staffing agency that provides hospitals with nurses. It was required to pay nurses overtime pay. However, the hospitals that used its staff did not always pay the agency extra to cover the costs of overtime work. This prompted the agency to adopt a policy requiring advance notice and prior authorization of overtime work. Failure to obtain authorization would result in the non-payment of overtime to nurses. Despite the policy, nurses frequently worked overtime without authorization. This practice of not paying for overtime work that had not been authorized was challenged by the Department of Labor.

1. What was the legal issue in this case? What did the court decide?

2. Why did it ultimately not matter that the staffing agency had a policy requiring prior approval of overtime work? That the agency was not in the workplace and had no prior notification of the disputed overtime work?

3. What should the staffing agency have done instead? Would the court’s suggestions be workable? Legal?

4. Do you agree with the decision in this case? Should the hospitals that requested the overtime work share in liability for any violations of the FLSA?