Earlier this week, in a matter of first impression within the Second Circuit, Judge P. Kevin Castel of the Southern District of New York held that employees who teach English as a second language (“ESL”) at a privately-owned ESL learning center qualify for the professional exemption under the FLSA as “teachers.” Fernandez v. Zoni Language
learned professional
Second Circuit Finds Audit Associates Are Exempt Professionals
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Exemptions
Affirming a highly-publicized 2012 decision from Southern District of New York Judge Colleen McMahon, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled last week that audit associates employed by “Big Four” accountancy KPMG qualified for the learned professional exemption from overtime under the FLSA. Pippins v. Kpmg Llp, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS…
California Court Upholds Employer’s Classification of Registered Dietitians as Exempt ”Professionals”
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in California, Exemptions
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…
Southern District Judge McMahon: Junior Accountants Are Exempt “Professionals”
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Exemptions
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…
Mississippi Judge: Question of Fact As to Exempt Status of Paralegal
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Exemptions
That exemption analysis is fact specific is one of the only central tenets of wage-and-hour law on which all practitioners agree. The facts surrounding an individual’s employment must be analyzed in every case, whether to determine an employee’s level of discretion and independent judgment (under the administrative exemption), to determine if their primary duty was management…
Despite Lack of Direct Care Duties, Case Managers Are FLSA Learned Professionals
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in California, Exemptions
As we frequently discuss in this space, application of the FLSA’s “learned” professional exemption is a frequent topic for litigation, including within the 9th Circuit. These disputes emanate not only from jobs not historically recognized by the DOL as learned professions, but even from within those areas, as exemplified by a new District Court…
After Bench Trial, District Judge Finds Toxicology Supervisor To Be Exempt Learned Professional
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Exemptions
In recent weeks, we have discussed challenges to FLSA exempt status brought by employees many might assume to be properly exempt, such as a Director for the Red Cross. In another recent rejection of a claim of this type brought by the the aggressive plaintiffs’ bar, a federal court in Pennsylvania has ruled, following…
Appellate Court Holds That Social Workers Employed By The State of Washington Are Not Exempt “Learned” Professionals
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Exemptions
Disputes regarding the application of the FLSA’s “learned” professional exemption can arise where many – but not all or even “most” – holders of a given position possess specific or substantially-job related academic credentials, but others do not. This is so due to some courts’ narrow interpretation of the learned professional exemption’s requirement that the position…
California Workplace Blog Coverage of Campbell v. PWC: Unlicensed Accountants Eligible for Professional Exemption
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in California
As discussed in detail on Jackson Lewis’ California Workplace Blog, the Ninth Circuit has resuscitated the California Labor Code’s “learned professional” exemption, reversing a decision from the Eastern District of California which held that unlicensed accountants could not qualify as a matter of law. Campbell v. PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS…
Minnesota Federal Court Discusses Applicability of White Collar Exemptions in the Financial Services Industry
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Exemptions
On March 31, Magistrate Judge John Tunheim of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota issued a lengthy opinion in several consolidated FLSA actions brought by a group of securities brokers who alleged they were misclassified as exempt under the FLSA. In re Rbc Dain Rauscher Overtime Litig., 2010 U.S. Dist.