The Nation : Cities Fight Wage Ruling

A Supreme Court decision requiring towns and cities to comply with federal wage-hour laws will cost municipalities more than $1 billion and must be modified, National League of Cities President George Voinovich, mayor of Cleveland, said. On Feb. 19, 1985, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act apply to state and local governments, affecting about 7 million local and state employees and several million volunteers. Voinovich said that Los Angeles estimates the cost of the overtime provisions to run from $50 million to $100 million.