The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that a civil enforcement action be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, except that a cause of action arising out of a "willful" violation may be commenced within three years. In the Secretary of Labors enforcement action based on respondents alleged failure to pay overtime compensation required by the FLSA, the District Court rejected respondents claim that the 2-year statute of limitations applied, finding the 3-year exception applicable under the standard of Coleman v. Jiffy June Farms, Inc., 458 F.2d 1139, whereby an action is "willful" if there is substantial evidence that the employer "knew or suspected that his actions might violate the FLSA"; i. e., if he merely knew that the FLSA was "in the picture." Vacating the judgment against respondent and remanding, the Court of Appeals rejected the Jiffy June standard in favor of the test employed in Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Thurston, 469 U.S. 111.

Held:

The standard of willfulness adopted in Thurston - that the em