Total Articles: 24
Insurance Company Special Investigators are Exempt Under Federal and State Laws, Ohio District Court Rules
After a trial to the court in September 2011, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio entered judgment on January 5, 2012 in favor of Defendant Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, on all claims alleged against it by a nationwide class of Special Investigators who claimed they were misclassified as exempt from the overtime requirements of the FLSA and New York and California state wage laws.
Does Lady Gaga Owe Assistant OT?
Imagine you are the personal assistant for the world’s most famous artist, Lady Gaga. You have the opportunity to travel the world, meet famous people and watch your boss hit the button to drop the “ball” in Times Square on New Years Eve. What could be better? Well, apparently, being paid overtime.
First Circuit Holds that Banquet Sales Managers Qualify for the Administrative Exemption
The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that banquet sales managers qualified for the administrative exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The court reached this holding in the case of Hines v. State Room, Inc. even though the banquet sales managers were bound by a price schedule established by their employer and therefore had virtually no authority to make financial decisions.
Ninth Circuit Interprets Learned Professional Exemption
The State of Washington's Department of Social and Health Services employ social workers, whom the agency classifies as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The state relies on the "learned professional exemption," which means "an employee whose primary duties require 'knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.'” 29 C.F.R. § 541.300(a)(2)(I).
A Broad Array of College Courses Does Not a Course of Specialized Instruction Make
A social worker required to hold a bachelor’s degree in social or human services, behavioral science or an allied field does not necessarily qualify as a “learned professional,” properly exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Ninth Circuit recently held in Solis v. State of Washington DSHS (No. 10-35590 (Sept. 9, 2011).
Decision Against Novartis Has Implications Beyond Pharmaceutical Industry.
In a major decision with possible relevance outside of the pharmaceutical industry, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (Connecticut, New York, and Vermont) gave strong deference to a U.S. Labor Department legal brief and overruled a lower court in deciding that Novartis's pharmaceutical sales reps were not exempt from overtime as outside salespersons or as administrative employees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act or applicable state laws. On the same day, the Second Circuit also summarily ruled against Schering in a similar case.
Using The Duck Test For Professional Employees.
When classifying their employees for overtime purposes under federal and state wage-hour laws, employers often rely on the equivalent of the "Duck Test": the job's title sounds professional and its duties require expertise and a high degree of skill it sounds and looks like a professional job, and so it must qualify for the professional exemption even if most of its occupants lack advanced degrees. In other words, they assume that when a high degree of skill and years of experience are needed to perform the position's essential tasks, and the position requires either advanced education or long years of experience, the occupants can be treated as exempt professionals under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Sales Rep Falls Within FLSAs Administrative Exemption Because of Independent Strategic Planning Responsibilities.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees who work more than 40 hours a week are entitled to overtime pay unless they fall under one of the Acts enumerated exemptions. The 3d U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal found that a Johnson & Johnson sales representative fell within the administrative exemption, based upon that persons high level of planning and foresight, along with her exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance and, therefore, was not entitled to overtime pay.
Sales rep falls within FLSA's "administrative" exemption because of independent strategic planning responsibilities.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees who work more than 40 hours a week are entitled to overtime pay unless they fall under one of the Acts enumerated exemptions. The 3d U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal found that a Johnson & Johnson sales representative fell within the administrative exemption, based upon that persons high level of planning and foresight, along with her exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance and, therefore, was not entitled to overtime pay. Smith v. Johnson & Johnson, 3d Cir., No. 09-1223, February 2, 2010.
Education Labor Letter: A Primer on the "Salary Basis" for Schools.
Anyone who has ever undertaken the task of analyzing the applicability and implications of "white collar" exemptions under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) knows that it usually requires a multi-tiered, multi-page flow chart, not to mention a great deal of patience. But there is some good news for schools: the exemption analysis for teachers is less complicated because there is no requirement to the meet the "salary basis" test under the FLSA.
When Do Managers, Assistant Managers and Supervisors Qualify as Exempt.
We wish there were an easy and certain answer to the above question, but the reality is that court decisions in this area differ in both analysis and results even given similar factual scenarios. For some time now we have been talking about the huge increase in overtime cases and other actions being filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and similar state wage and hour laws. No area of employment litigation has been more active recently than wage and hour litigation. In 2007 the steep increase in FLSA lawsuits filed continued as did payouts, collectively totaling over a billion dollars.
Physical Presence Not Required To Satisfy "Duties" Test (pdf).
DOL opinion letter finds store manager qualified for executive exemption.
New administrative exemption what's in and what's out
Nearly two years have passed since the DOL revised the regulations interpreting the
white-collar exemptions from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA). The regulations primarily focused on administrative, executive, and professional
employees. Based on the revised regulations, many companies tweaked their exempt
classifications.
Beware the Salary Basis Requirement for Exempt Employees (pdf).
Most employers know that an employee must
meet certain duties tests to qualify for the white
collar exemptionsexecutive, administrative and
professional. It is important not to overlook another
requirement for these exemptions: the employee must
be paid on a salary basis. This means that the employee
generally must receive the same fi xed amount of salary
regardless of the quantity or quality of work performed
in the workweek. The salary basis requirement can be
understood as a general rule with seven exceptions.
"White Collars" Do Not Guarantee Exempt Status (pdf).
Over the past nine months, Merrill Lynch, Morgan
Stanley and UBS have settled Fair Labor Standards Act
and state law overtime lawsuits for a combined total of
more than $160 million. Plaintiffs in the lawsuits claimed
that the companies stock brokers and financial advisors
were incorrectly classified as exempt white collar
employees and thus were due overtime pay. Copycat
suits have been filed against other brokerage companies,
including A.G. Edwards, Wachovia, Prudential, J.P.
Morgan Chase and Bear Stearns. Given the success
plaintiffs attorneys are having with these cases, more
lawsuits can be expected.
DOL Opinion Letters Provide Employers With Guidance (pdf).
In August of last year, the revised
federal regulations for the white collar
overtime pay exemptions under the
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) took
effect. The final rule, which is now
commonly referred to as the Part 541
regulations, resulted in scores of employers
scrambling to ensure that their
exempt employees were properly classified.
More than one year later, employers
continue to seek clarification on the
new Part 541 regulations and other
common wage and hour issues.
DOL Issues Opinion Letter Rulings Addressing New White-Collar Exemption Regulations (pdf).
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued
several new administrative letter rulings discussing the
recently revised Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
white-collar exemption regulations that took effect
August 23, 2004. Several other letters address longstanding,
but often-confusing FLSA issues.
Making sense of the new wage and hour regulations (pdf)
The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) new "whitecollar" regulations went into effect
August 23, 2004. While the regulations are more of a cosmetic touch-up as opposed to an
extreme makeover, many of you have questions about their implementation and effect on your
full-time and part-time employees. Were here to shed some light on some of the most frequently
asked questions regarding the new regulations.
Flsa White-Collar Exemption Regs In Effect; Legislative Amendments In Limbo (pdf).
As most employers now know, final regulations pertaining
to the Fair Labor Standards Act white-collar exemptions for
overtime eligibility went into effect on August 23, 2004.
New DOL Overtime Regulations: Are You Ready? (pdf).
On April 23, 2004, the Department of Labor ("DOL") issued its final version of the regulations governing which employees are entitled to overtime. These rules go into effect on August 23, 2004. There are some significant changes with regard to the overtime regulations covering executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees, typically known as "white collar" employees.
Employers Must Comply With New Federal Wage Regulations.
The federal Department of Labor recently issued new regulations governing the so-called "white collar exemptions" under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The regulations take effect August 23, 2004.
The Federal Department of Labor Issues New Regulations Governing Exempt Employees (pdf).
The DOL recently issued new regulations governing the so-called "white collar exemptions" under the FLSA.
Overtime Regulations: Employers Should be Ready to Comply by August 23, 2004 (pdf).
The House of Representatives voted 222 to 205 on Wednesday, May 12, to table a procedural motion by Rep. George Miller (D-CA), which could have resulted in a vote, preventing the implementation of the new overtime regulations.
Changes to "Exempt" Status May Be Effective Soon.
Employers may soon need to review the "exempt" and "non-exempt" classification of employees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to determine whether they are correctly paying them.
