A panel of the Atlanta-based federal appeals court has rejected a defense that employers have been raising in the face of wage-and-hour lawsuits.

The defense argument, which has been used around the country, contends that if an employee is complicit in inaccurately reporting how many hours he has worked, he should not be allowed to sue the employer later over wage-and-hour issues. In the case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the plaintiff said he was told by a supervisor to clock out before he actually went home because his employer, TitleMax of Georgia, didn't pay overtime.

The Jan. 15 ruling appears to be the first federal appellate ruling to address the defense tactic directly.