Something big seemed to be at stake at the Supreme Court this morning in oral arguments in Long Island Care at Home v. Coke. With the care of aging parents an increasing concern, the issue was whether certain employees who take care of the elderly at home are exempt from minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. But with only fleeting exceptions, it was hard to tell that any human being, old or otherwise, was involved in the case, as discussion descended into the intricacies of regulatory interpretation and Chevron deference.
There was one lighter moment, however, when Justice Anthony Kennedy cast about for examples of domestic workers who might not be affected by the regulation at issue, because they do not offer companionship as part of their services. "A maid, a cook, a footman," Kennedy posited. Before H. Bartow Farr, the lawyer before the Court, could answer, Justice Antonin Scalia interjected incredulously, "What's a footman? I don't even know what a footman is." Spectators laughed, but Kennedy scowled, obviously finding nothing amusing in Scalia's remark. Farr wisely sidestepped: "I think that may be beyond my expertise, Justice Scalia."
For the record, a footman used to be a servant who ran in front of or next to his master's carriage (pictured), but the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a modern-day footman as "a servant who serves at table, tends the door, and runs errands."
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