Municipal workers have been protected by the FLSA since the Supreme Court’s landmark 1985 decision in Garcia v. San Antonio Metro. Transit Auth., 469 U.S. 528 (U.S. 1985) (though public sector employers are permitted to pay premium overtime via compensatory time rather than cash wages under 29 U.S.C. § 207(o)). However, as evidenced by a
discretion and independent judgment
Ohio Federal Court: USDOL’s “New” Interpretation of Loan Officer Status Was Proper
Much attention has been paid to the Department of Labor’s March 2010 Administrative Interpretation, which reversed prior DOL opinions and stated that mortgage loan officers do not qualify for the administrative exemption under the FLSA. The Mortgage Bankers Association has filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the interpretation as a violation of the Administrative Procedures…
Ohio Judge Rules Insurance Investigators Exempt as “Administrative” Employees
As the volume of FLSA lawsuits remains high, the frequency of collective action trials – once unheard of – has correspondingly increased. On January 5, 2012, following a bench trial, Judge Edmund Sargus, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled that 91 current and former “special investigators” for defendant…
Red Cross Director Exercised Discretion and Judgment, Qualified for Administrative Exemption
Quantifying the necessary “discretion and independent judgment” required to qualify for the administrative exemption continues to divide courts, and the conclusion is often in the eye of the judicial beholder. This is especially so where discretionary authority must be measured without reference to monetary benchmarks or limits, such as those applicable to insurance adjusters or…
First Circuit Rules Banquet Sales Managers Exercised Discretion and Independent Judgment, Qualify for Administrative Exemption
We have repeatedly addressed the FLSA administrative exemption’s requirement that an employee exercise discretion and independent judgment, a concept which has confounded some courts and at times, led to inconsistent rulings. In a new decision, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (encompassing Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine) has ruled that sales…
Court Rejects Estimator Plaintiff’s Attempt To Obtain Summary Judgment That She Was Misclassified As An Exempt Administrative Employee
Most commonly, where an employee challenges his or her classification by his or her employer as exempt in an FLSA lawsuit, the defendant seeks summary judgment (opposed by plaintiff), arguing that the employer can establish as a matter of law based on the undisputed factual record that the exempt classification was appropriate. Less often, a plaintiff…
New York District Court Denies Summary Judgment As To Applicability of Administrative Exemption To “Research Associate”
Confusion continues to reign throughout the federal district courts as to the scope of the administrative exemption as set forth in the regulations at 29 C.F.R. §§ 541.200-202. In a decision highlighting this lack of clarity, Federal District Judge Kevin Castel of the Southern District of New York recently denied cross-motions for summary judgment as to…
Two Circuit Courts Expansively Interpret The Administrative Exemption
The applicability of the FLSA’s “administrative” exemption continues to be a primary issue in a significant percentage of the cases comprising the ongoing wave of wage and hour litigation. Recently, two appellate courts, the Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Third Circuits, issued new opinions endorsing a broader interpretation of this exemption.
In Verkuilen v. …
District Court Finds That Software Company’s Technical Consultants Are Exempt “Administrative” Employees
As discussed here and here, the availability of the FLSA’s administrative exemption continues to be a hotly-contested issue in wage and hour litigation. One of the many areas of dispute in applying the exemption concerns whether an employee performs a “production” role (rendering the exemption inapplicable) or an administrative role with duties related to the…
Close, But No Discretion: District Court Holds Insurance Investigators Ineligible for Administrative Exemption
Recently, a federal judge in Minnesota analyzed whether the confounding administrative exemption applies to investigators employed by a “full-service investigative firm specializing in insurance defense investigations.” Ahle v. Veracity Research Co., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88250 (D. Minn. Aug. 25, 2010). In an opinion which addressed numerous other issues in the litigation, including rejecting the…