discretion and independent judgment

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As the healthcare field continues to expand to meet evolving standards of care and government regulations, industry employers have created or modified categories of professional employees to meet business and medical needs.  New positions have been created which are not addressed by name in existing DOL regulations and case law concerning applicability of the learned…

Judge William Terrell Hodges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida recently ruled that an employee with an LPN degree who was responsible for managing an employer’s workers’ compensation claims qualified for the administrative exemption.  Hodge v. ClosetMaid Corp., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45490 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 2, 2014).…

Cases upholding the exempt status of dispatchers pursuant to the administrative exemption of the FLSA generally have focused on whether the position requires the performance of decision-making duties and analysis “beyond mere communication and tracking of vehicles.”  A new decision builds on that analysis.  Wade v. Werner Trucking Co., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35653…

Though courts have generally disfavored such claims, from time to time insurance adjusters and examiners allege that the FLSA’s administrative exemption does not apply to their work because their work either: 1) does not relate to business operations of their employer; or 2) does not require the exercise of discretion and independent judgment.  Rejecting…

Administrative employees classified as exempt under the administrative exemption who function as a “one man department” at times challenge whether their work genuinely constitutes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.  They argue that without subordinates, the work must entail significant ministerial tasks.  Rejecting just such a challenge,…

Continuing its line of common sense interpretations of the administrative exemption, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that an insurance company employee tasked with maintaining an in-depth understanding of particular insurance products and training sales staff on those products was an administratively exempt employee.  Blanchar v. Std. Ins. Co.…

An employee holding a position involving some degree of managerial authority but not enough to qualify for the executive exemption, is sometimes classified as exempt under the administrative exemption. This classification is premised on, among other duties, these individuals making decisions concerning workflow, prioritizing tasks, and communicating with customers.  The Court of Appeals for the…

FLSA litigation generally moves from industry-to-industry, and, in the most recent wave of litigation, one of the hardest hit industries has been the accounting profession, particularly the “big four” accounting firms, which have been subjected to large-scale challenges of their classification of junior accountants as exempt. Typically, these individuals hold accounting degrees and…

As Human Resources professionals already know, running an HR department – or fulfilling the HR function on one’s own – is an integral component of administering an employer’s business. But do those duties necessarily translate into qualifying exempt duties under the FLSA? One recent federal decision confirms that the answer is yes. Farnham v. Riimic, 2012…

To qualify for the administrative exemption, DOL regulations require that an “executive assistant or administrative assistant to a business owner or senior executive of a large business “ perform his or her duties “without specific instructions or prescribed procedures” and that he or she be “delegated authority regarding matters of significance.” 29 CFR § 541.203(d). If …