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American Future Systems, Inc., dba Progressive Business Publications, et al. v. R. Alexander Acosta, Secretary of Labor

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, No. 16-2685 · judgment October 13, 2017

Certiorari denied · June 11, 2018

Pre-decision estimate: 3% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

In the case at bar, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that an employer must compensate all employee breaks of 20 minutes or less as “working” time under the Fair Labor Standards Act even though the timing, conditions, and duration of each break were determined by the employee taking the break. The court also made this decision without reference to which party—employer or employee— primarily benefitted from the break. The Question Presented is: Whether compensability of “break” time should (as this Court and the Second, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, Tenth, and D.C. Circuits have held) be determined based on an assessment of all the facts and circumstances of the break, or should (as the Third, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits have declared) be subject to bright-line rules advocated by the Department of Labor. (i)

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Alfred W. Putnam Jr.
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage

Proceedings

Jun 11 2018
Petition DENIED.
May 22 2018
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/7/2018.
May 21 2018
Reply of petitioners American Future Systems, Inc., dba Progressive Business Publications, et al. filed.
May 07 2018
Brief of respondent R. Alexander Acosta, Secretary of Labor in opposition filed.
Apr 19 2018
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including May 7, 2018.
Apr 18 2018
Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 23, 2018 to May 7, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
Mar 19 2018
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including April 23, 2018.
Mar 16 2018
Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 22, 2018 to April 23, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
Feb 20 2018
Brief amicus curiae of Support Center for Child Advocates filed.
Feb 14 2018
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including March 22, 2018.
Feb 13 2018
Motion to extend the time to file a response from February 20, 2018 to March 22, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
Jan 11 2018
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 20, 2018)