Labor & Indus. v. Lanier Brugh

In Labor & Indus. v. Lanier Brugh (2006) 135 Wash.App. 808, a state agency sued employers providing services under contract to the United States Postal Service (USPS), alleging that the employers had failed to comply with state law regarding overtime compensation. The contract between the employers and the USPS contained a clause stating: " 'Nothing in this provision relieves the suppleir... of any other obligation under law or contract for the payment of a higher wage to any employee.' " (Brugh, supra, 147 P.3d at p. 590.) The appellate court concluded that the SCA did not preempt the state agency's claims, reasoning that Congress, in enacting the SCA, did not expressly preempt state overtime laws; that the SCA did not "occupy the legislative field"; and that the contract expressly obliged the employers to comply with state laws according employees "?a higher wage.'" (Brugh, supra, 147 P.3d at pp. 592-594.)