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,

While much litigation has concerned the applicability of the administrative exemption to loan officers, culminating in the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s invalidation of the Department of Labor’s interpretation that they do not qualify for that exemption, loan officers with appropriate job duties and responsibilities may also qualify for the outside sales

A recent federal court decision reiterates that an employee whose primary duties are managerial in nature who wields discretion and independent judgment to make employment and business decisions qualifies for the administrative exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law, in addition to eligibility for the “executive” exemption commonly applied to

The Department of Labor continues carrying out its aggressive regulatory agenda, releasing the much-anticipated final rule extending FLSA minimum wage and overtime protection to direct care workers such as home health aides, personal care aides and certified nursing assistants working for home care agencies and other domestic services employers, and reversing the application of

As we recently discussed, there are exceptions to the FLSA’s broad coverage provisions. One such FLSA exception pertains to organizations—often not-for-profits—which are not “enterprises”, defined as a person or persons performing related activities “for a common business purpose.” A recent decision from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia is instructive as the

Changes in technology and technology-related jobs occur at warp-speed; the law, however, moves slowly. For this reason, regulations regarding exempt status of workers are sometimes drafted with broad language to capture future changes in duties and positions not in existence at the time the regulations are implemented.  Regulations regarding the exempt status of computer professional employees are

Exempt status under the FLSA often requires payment of a fixed salary on the salary basis discussed in the DOL regulations. 29 C.F.R. § 541.602. An employee classified as exempt sometimes asserts that receipt of supplemental compensation beyond the fixed salary renders him a non-exempt employee. Courts, however, have rejected this argument, requiring only payment of the fixed

One of the industry-specific overtime exemptions contained in 29 U.S.C. § 213(b) is the exemption from overtime applicable to sales employees engaged in selling “trailers, boats, or aircraft, if he is employed by a nonmanufacturing establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling trailers, boats, or aircraft to ultimate purchasers.”  Judge Carlton W. Reeves of

The United States District Court for the District of Maryland recently held that deductions from an exempt employee’s weekly salary for leave taken pursuant to an unpaid leave policy offering such leave only in full day increments did not impact the employee’s exempt status. Kulish v. Rite Aid Corp., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176760

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