The Supreme Court has decided a case regarding wage violation complaints. The court ruled that employees who make written or oral complaints about wage violations are protected from retaliation. The issue in the case was whether a complaint had to be written. The justices found in favor of an employee who complained to his supervisor about the location of time clocks and the effect on wages. While the justices did uphold oral complaints as valid in this case, they did not say that any complaint was protected, but those that are "clear and detailed" and an"assertion of rights" under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The ruling was 6-2, with Justices Scalia and Thomas dissenting.
See "Justices Back Employee in Wage Complaint Case", Adam Liptak, The New York Times, March 22, 2011