Removal Not Barred By Statute Allowing Proceeding In State Court

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a), state court actions may be removed to federal court “except as otherwise expressly provided by Act of Congress.” Resolving a split between the First and Eleventh circuits, on the one hand, and the Eighth circuit, on the other, the U.S. Supreme Court held that by providing that an action under the Fair Labor Standards Act “may be maintained” in either federal or state court, Congress did not intend to preclude removal. Breuer v. Jim’s Concrete of Brevard, Inc., 538 U.S. 691 (May 19, 2003). Note: similar language exists in other statutes including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.