Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 39-3-401 (2026)

Declaration Of Policy

✓ current as of May 2026

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TITLE 39. LABOR

CHAPTER 3. WAGES AND WAGE PROTECTION

Part 4. Minimum Wage and Overtime Compensation

Declaration Of Policy

39-3-401. Declaration of policy. It is declared to be the policy of this part to:

(1) establish minimum wage and overtime compensation standards for workers at levels consistent with their health, efficiency, and general well-being;

(2) safeguard existing minimum wage and overtime compensation standards which are adequate to maintain the health, efficiency, and general well-being of workers against the unfair competition of wage and hour standards which do not provide such adequate standards of living; and

(3) sustain purchasing power and increase employment opportunities.

History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 417, L. 1971; R.C.M. 1947, 41-2301.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 13 cases, 1979–2003 · leading case: Wage Claims of Stewart v. Region II Child & Fam. Servs., 788 P.2d 913 (Mont. 1990).

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Wage Claims of Stewart v. Region II Child & Fam. Servs., 788 P.2d 913 (Mont. 1990). · cites it 6× “§ 202 ; § 39-3-401, MCA. Allowing F.L.S.A. employees to fall back on the M.”

Berry v. KRTV Commc'ns, Inc., 865 P.2d 1104 (Mont. 1993). · cites it 6× “In opposition to his employer's motion for summary judgment, Berry did not offer facts *1107 to controvert those offered by KRTV. Instead, he contended that, based on those undisputed facts, he was entitled to overtime pay pursuant to Montana's Minimum Wage and Maximum Hour Act…”

Rothwell v. Allstate Ins., 1999 MT 50 (Mont. 1999). · cites it 4× “See § 39-3-401, MCA. Thus, it is clear from both the Legislature's policy declaration and our prior cases that the benefits of the minimum wage and overtime statutes cannot be waived by private agreement, a proposition with which I wholeheartedly agree.”

Dodd v. City of East Helena, 591 P.2d 241 (Mont. 1979). · cites it 2× “1947, now section 39-3-401 et seq. MCA, which became effective July 1, 1971.”

McKamey v. State, 885 P.2d 515 (Mont. 1994). “This schedule placed them on duty for 65 hours in some weeks, 55 hours in other weeks, and 48 hours in the remaining weeks. However, their pay did not vary according to the hours worked, and they were not paid overtime compensation.”

Pope v. Keefer, 591 P.2d 206 (Mont. 1979). “1947, now sections 39-3-401 *458 through -408 MCA, for the work he performed on the Keefer ranch over the four and one-half years he was there.”

Wage Claims of Babinecz v. Montana High. Patrol, 2003 MT 107 (Mont. 2003). · cites it 2× “To hold otherwise would defeat the policy behind the WPA set forth at § 39-3-401, MCA, where it states: Declaration of policy.”

State v. Wilson, 614 P.2d 1066 (Mont. 1980). · cites it 5× “To rule otherwise would be to open a loophole in our statute that would be impossible to close, on the overtime rates required under the forty hour workweek section.”

Terry v. Bd. of Regents of Higher Educ., 714 P.2d 151 (Mont. 1986). “He also concluded that the Gerwin Research Farm, even though it was part of an Agricultural Experiment Station and owned by the University, was a farm or ranch for the purposes of determining overtime exemptions under Montana’s Minimum Wage and Overtime Act, Sections 39-3-401,…”

Russell v. Mini Mart., Inc., 711 F. Supp. 556 (D. Mont. 1988). · cites it 2× “Background The complaint alleges four counts: count one, violation of Montana’s Minimum Wage and Overtime Compensation laws, Mont. Code Ann. §§ 39-3-401 et seq.; count two, violation of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.”

Phillips v. Lake Cnty., 721 P.2d 326 (Mont. 1986). · cites it 3× “This case was decided immediately after the 1971 Montana Legislature adopted the Minimum Wage and Overtime Compensation Act ("MWOCA") which is codified in § 39-3-401, et seq., MCA. In City of Billings this Court was basically asked to decide whether (1) the MWOCA itself was…”

Intermountain Deaconess Home for Child. v. State, Dep't of Labor & Indus., 623 P.2d 1384 (Mont. 1981). · cites it 3× “See, section 39-3-401, MCA. Our Pope decision up to five years on an oral employment contract after the wages become due and payable.”

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