The California Supreme Court recently made national headlines when it declined to follow—strictly as a matter of policy—70-year-old precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in a case interpreting the state’s comparable wage regulations. To be sure, the policy goals and judicial philosophies of California and other parts of the country are not always synchronous. Consequently, the California decision is a reminder that employers everywhere shouldn’t place too much reliance on federal law when confronting state-law issues.
