Employees whose job it was to investigate and determine the likely cause of damage to the equipment of broadband service providers were misclassified as exempt by their employer, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held. Therefore, the employees’ overtime claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) were improperly dismissed by the trial court.
Exemptions
Supreme Court to Review Fifth Circuit’s Oil Rig “Day Rate” Case
In April 2020, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that paying an employee a set amount for each day that he works (i.e., on a “day rate” basis) does not satisfy the “salary basis” component required to qualify as overtime-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards…
Eleventh Circuit Case An Excellent Primer on the FLSA’s Administrative Exemption
Business development managers, whose job was to convince corporate customers to purchase General Motors vehicles for their corporate fleets, qualified for the administrative exemption from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held. Brown v. Nexus Bus. Solutions, LLC, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 8777…
Wage and Hour Division Nominee Clears First Senate Hurdle (Barely), Proposed Salary Increase for Overtime-Exempt Employees Appears Likely
Last week, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was absent from the meeting of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee – and that spelled good news for the Biden Administration’s nominee to head the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor, Dr. David Weil. The nomination of Dr. Weil, who previously held the…
Alaska Supreme Court Cools Down Standard for Establishing State Law Wage & Hour Exemptions
Answering the first of two certified questions from an Alaska federal court and overturning nearly 30-year-old precedent, the Alaska Supreme Court has held that an employer need only establish an exemption under the Alaska Wage and Hour Act by a “preponderance of the evidence,” rather than “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Buntin v. 00073 Tmb Schlumberger…
New Secretary of Labor Hints at Increased Minimum Salary for Overtime Exemptions
Will the DOL again seek to raise the minimum salary level for exempt “white collar” employees?
In testimony before the House Education and Labor Committee on June 10, 2011, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh stated that the Department of Labor (DOL) is reviewing a Final Rule issued during the Trump administration, in which the DOL…
FLSA’s Extended Limitations Period Requires Plausible Factual Pleadings, Second Circuit Holds
Because the plaintiff failed to allege any facts supporting his claim that his former employer acted willfully in failing to pay him overtime, he was not entitled to the FLSA’s extended, three-year statute of limitations. Therefore, as his claim was filed well after the standard two-year limitations period for such claims had expired, the trial…
Full Fifth Circuit to Hear FLSA “Day Rate” Case, Vacating Panel Opinion
In April 2020, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that paying an employee a set amount for each day he works (i.e. on a “day rate” basis) does not satisfy the “salary basis” component required to qualify as overtime-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA),…
States Challenge DOL’s Tip Regulations Final Rule, DOL Withdraws Opinion Letters
On January 19, 2021, eight states (Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania), along with the District of Columbia, filed a lawsuit seeking to enjoin the Tip Regulations Final Rule published by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in late December 2020. The Final Rule, which currently is scheduled to become…
Mandatory Gratuities Are Not “Tips” But May Qualify as Commissions Under the FLSA, Fourth Circuit Holds
Agreeing with the district court, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has concluded that the mandatory service charges imposed by a restaurant on dining parties of six or more were not “tips” under the FLSA. However, the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the trial court’s determination that the FLSA’s “commissioned salesperson” overtime…