The Ohio Supreme Court will decide if outside sales representatives who were paid on commission must be paid minimum wage - and that eventual ruling could have a big reach. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.
Two commission-based employees who each worked about 50 hours a week selling ads for an Ohio based free coupon magazine and website said in their lawsuit a 2006 constitutional amendment entitled them to be paid minimum wage.
The owners' attorney John Susany told the justices the suit has a huge potential impact.
"They're looking to create an avalanche of lawsuits and class-action lawsuits."
But the reps lawyer Andrew Biller said the law that was written to enact the amendment conflicts with the Federal Labor Standards Act.
"The FLSA says employee means any individual employed by an employer."
The trial court agreed with the owners, while the appeals court sided with the sales reps.