How Is 2012 Like 1947?

Once upon a time, a seriously-alarmed legislative body concluded that wage-hour claims and litigation had gotten out-of-hand.

Following a series of court decisions that had, among other things, broadly interpreted the scope of what counted as "hours worked", this group observed that the law was "creating wholly unexpected liabilities, immense in amount and retroactive in operation . . .." The legislators were convinced that, if the status quo persisted:

• "the payment of such liabilities would bring about financial ruin of many employers and seriously impair the capital resources of many others, thereby resulting in the reduction of industrial operations, halting of expansion and development, curtailing employment, and the earning power of employees;"