Barbosa

Manuel Barbosa appeals from the adverse judgment on his complaint for wrongful termination after the superior court granted the motion for nonsuit by defendant IMPCO Technologies, Inc. He contends the trial court improperly found there was no public policy protecting a mistaken but good faith claim to overtime wages. We agree. The public policy in favor of the employer’s duty to pay overtime wages protects an employee from termination for making a good faith but mistaken claim to overtime. The case must be reversed and remanded for a jury determination of the questions of Barbosa’s good faith and IMPCO’s reason for his termination.

FACTS

Barbosa started working at IMPCO as a carburetor assembler. At the time of his termination, in June 2007, he worked as a “cell leader” supervising up to eight other carburetor assemblers. He was paid by the hour; sometimes he and the other employees worked overtime.

Barbosa testified that in June 2007, two of the employees in his cell told him they were missing two hours of overtime. After he talked with them, he thought he also was missing two hours of overtime, “[b]ecause some employees coming to me, and they told me they’re missing…