Last Month at the Supreme Court | December 2024

The December 2024 edition of Last Month at the Supreme Court offers a compelling year-end review of recent business cases shaping the legal landscape. This month, we delve into the Court’s examination of several critical issues: the criteria for a Medicare benefit entitlement, what qualifies as a “claim” under the False Claims Act, and the evidentiary burden required to establish a Fair Labor Standards Act exemption. This edition also features a Grant Alert on a case that questions whether Congress may delegate its lawmaking authority to an Executive Branch federal agency and whether that agency may then cede its delegated authority to a private company to administer federal programs. 

For more information, please contact Chantel Febus, James Azadian, Susan Feibus, Mark Magyar, Kyle Asher, Christopher Sakauye, Monika Harris, or Ryan VanOver.

Supreme Court Examines Standard of Proof for FLSA Exemptions

In E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera, the Supreme Court will grapple with the question of whether the standard of proof for Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemptions is a preponderance of the evidence or clear and convincing evidence. Under the FLSA, employers must pay employees time-and-a-half for work exceeding 40 hours a week unless an exemption applies. Read the full synopsis here.  

Supreme Court to Examine Medicare Reimbursement Calculations

In what promises to be another opportunity to further clarify the scope of federal agency influence after the fall of Chevron deference, on June 10, 2024, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Advocate Christ Medical Center, et al. v. Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services. The case involves the calculation of Medicare reimbursements to hospitals under the “disproportionate share hospital” (DSH) adjustment, which provides additional compensation to hospitals serving an unusually high percentage of low-income patients. Read the full synopsis here.  

Supreme Court Scrutinizes Definitions To Determine Scope of False Claims Act

In Wisconsin Bell, Inc. v. United States, ex rel. Todd Heath, another case testing the limits of the False Claims Act (FCA), the question presented is whether requests for money from the FCC’s E-rate program are “claims” under the False Claims Act (FCA). Read the full synopsis here.

Grant Alert: The Court Continues To Scrutinize the Administrative State but Questions the Claimed Procedural Laxity of Challenges to Agency Action

Congress authorized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish and implement universal service subsidy programs to promote affordable and reliable nationwide communications services funded by mandatory contributions from telecommunications carriers. 47 U.S.C. § 254. As part of the regulatory scheme to implement its programs, the FCC appointed the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), a private company, to administer the programs. Among its tasks, the USAC calculates projections used in computing universal service contribution rates (a tax determined by a private entity according to the Fifth Circuit), which the FCC may adopt. Read the full synopsis here.