Raper v. State of Iowa

Decision Date13 June 1997
Docket NumberNo. 96-2895SI,96-2895SI
Citation115 F.3d 623
Parties133 Lab.Cas. P 33,546, 3 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1727 Clifford Daniel RAPER, and All Other Similarly Situated Employees, Appellants, v. STATE OF IOWA; Iowa Department of Public Safety, Appellees. John M. VARNUM, Larry W. Pottridge, and All Other Similarly Situated Employees, Appellants, v. STATE OF IOWA; Iowa Department of Transportation, Appellees. Clinton PHILLIPS, Kurt Gunther, Larry Farrington, Steve Faber, Richard Rewis, and All Other Similarly Situated Employees, Appellants, v. DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS; State of Iowa, Appellees. Duane KENNEDY, and All Other Similarly Situated Employees, Appellants, v. The DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES; State of Iowa, Appellees.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Pamela J. Prager, Des Moines, Iowa, argued (R. Todd Gaffney, on the brief), for Appellants.

Jeffrey D. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General (argued), Des Moines, Iowa, for Appellees.

Before FAGG, HEANEY, and JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judges.

FAGG, Circuit Judge.

Clifford Daniel Raper and other Iowa state employees brought these lawsuits contending the State of Iowa is liable for unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Relying on Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 1114, 134 L.Ed.2d 252 (1996), the district court dismissed the employees' FLSA challenge to the employment practices of various state agencies for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. See Raper v. Iowa, 940 F.Supp. 1421, 1423-27 (S.D.Iowa 1996). In Seminole Tribe, the Supreme Court concluded that Congress lacks the power to abrogate a state's Eleventh Amendment immunity when it enacts legislation under the Interstate Commerce Clause. See --- U.S. at ---- - ----, 116 S.Ct. at 1126-28; see also Moad v. Arkansas State Police Dep't, 111 F.3d 585, 586-87 (8th Cir.1997) (state employees' FLSA action seeking unpaid overtime was not authorized by the Commerce Clause). On appeal, the employees argue the district court failed to recognize that Congress could have revoked the state's sovereign immunity from their FLSA lawsuits under the enforcement power of the Fourteenth Amendment. Like the Sixth Circuit in Wilson-Jones v. Caviness, 99 F.3d 203, 208-11 (6th Cir.1996), modified on other grounds, 107 F.3d 358 (6th Cir.1997) (per curiam), we reject the employees' argument because the FLSA's overtime provisions cannot be regarded as serving a Fourteenth Amendment purpose, see id. at 210. Although beyond the scope of...

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28 cases
  • Velasquez v. Frapwell, s. 98-1547
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)
    • 12. November 1998
    ...... for damages or injunctive relief against the employer--including a state employer. §§ 4303(4)(A)(iii), 4323(c)(1)(A), (3), (7). Velasquez is a ...Maine, supra, 118 F.3d at 43-49; Raper v. Iowa, 115 F.3d 623, 624 (8th Cir.1997). Paying someone less than the ......
  • Raper v. State, 03-0255.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Iowa
    • 6. Oktober 2004
    ... 688 N.W.2d 29 Clifford Daniel RAPER, et al., Appellants, . v. . The STATE of Iowa and the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Appellees. . No. 03-0255. . Supreme Court of Iowa. . October 6, 2004. .          688 N.W.2d 33 ......
  • Varner v. Illinois State University, 97-3253
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)
    • 13. Oktober 1998
    ......Kansas, 115 F.3d 813, 816-18 (10th Cir.1997); Raper v. Iowa, 115 F.3d 623, 624 (8th Cir.1997); Wilson-Jones v. Caviness, 99 F.3d 203, 208-11 (6th ......
  • Abril v. Com. of Virginia, AFL-CIO
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit)
    • 21. Mai 1998
    ...... Rosemarie C. ABRIL, Plaintiff-Appellant, . American Federation of State, County and Municipal . Employees, AFL-CIO; Virginia Alliance of State . ... See Mills v. Maine, 118 F.3d 37, 43-49 (1st Cir.1997); Raper v. Iowa, 115 F.3d 623, 624 (8th Cir.1997); Aaron v. Kansas, 115 F.3d 813, ......
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