$130,000 Salary Alone Does Not Make Labor Manager Exempt
In a case exemplifying that salary alone does not make an employee exempt, a district court in Idaho denied summary judgment to an employer in an overtime case brought by a Labor Manager earning $130,000/year. Wood v. Kinetic Sys., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11221 (D. Idaho Feb. 4, 2011).
While it was undisputed the Plaintiff was paid $130,000 on a salary basis, questions of fact remained as to whether the Plaintiff performed primarily non-exempt duties, including working at times as a Project Superintendent, a non-exempt position he had previously held. Noteworthy in this decision is the Court’s failure to afford any weight based on the employee’s high compensation. Curiously, the Court’s decision contained no reference to exemption to “highly compensated employees,” applicable to those earning more than $100,000 per year, where the duties test is easier to meet. 29 CFR § 541.601.
