• 19
  • December
    2011

A recent U.S. Court of Appeals decision reinforces nearly 150 years of precedents that American employers cannot own their laborers. In the most recent case employees of software giant Oracle Corp. who lived in Colorado and Arizona were sent to work in California. Oracle only compensated according to the laws of their respective states, and not according to California's wage and hour laws, which favor workers more. When the workers sued for compensation the case found its way to federal district court, which found for Oracle.

However, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court ruling after consulting the California Supreme Court. Since according to California law any business in the state must compensate workers by state law terms, those who live in other states but work in California deserve compensation by California law. Oracle now owes those employees from other states back compensation for work completed in the Golden State.

This case echoes one of the most controversial cases in U.S. History, Dred Scott v Sanford. Born a Virginia Slave, Dred Scott was purchased in Missouri by a military officer who later took Scott to states where Congress prohibited slavery. Scott sued for his freedom on that basis.

No two justices completely concurred on all reasons for finding 7-2 against Scott, and the dissenting opinions did not agree on why either. The case's far-reaching precedent on state's rights fed the fires of the Civil War and overshadowed the significance of personal rights issues until later. When personal; rights returned to focus the Supreme Court reversed the Dred Scott decision.

Though slavery was eliminated by then anyway, the court acknowledged how wrong the initial decision had been regarding Scott's rights under separate jurisdictions. The lesson remains pertinent in this new case. Employers do not own their labor. They must comply with the local labor laws of the states where their employees work, regardless of the laborers' states of residence.

Source: Reuters, "U.S. appeals court reviews Oracle overtime lawsuit," Terry Baynes, Dec. 13, 2011