Wage & Hour Counsel : Wage & Hour Lawyer & Attorney : Littler Mendelson Law Firm : Employment Law, Labor Relations

On October 14, 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) filed an amicus brief in a case pending before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, In Re Novartis Wage and Hour Litigation, arguing for a stricter interpretation of “outside salesperson” and “administrative employee” exemptions under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as applied to pharmaceutical sales representatives. In its brief, the DOL maintains that pharmaceutical sales representatives neither “make sales” nor exercise sufficient discretion to qualify for the exemptions from overtime compensation, urging the Court of Appeals to reverse the district court’s defense judgment below. See In Re Novartis Wage and Hour Litig., 593 F. Supp. 2d 637, 640 (S.D.N.Y. 2009).

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On September 30, 2009, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, in Henry v. Quicken Loans, Inc., 2009 WL 3199788, held that a mortgage lender-employer acted in good faith when it demonstrated that it had reasonably relied upon the September 2006 U.S. Department of Labor Opinion Letter when determining whether its loan officers qualified for the “administrative exemption” to the Fair Labor Standard Act and were therefore ineligible for overtime.

As discussed previously, the issue was initially determined in July by a federal magistrate judge who ruled that an employer’s reasonable reliance on the September 2006 DOL Opinion Letter, as established through affidavit testimony of corporate executives, constituted good faith as a matter of law.  This ruling, contained in the magistrate’s report and recommendation, was adopted and confirmed by the district court and, therefore, the employer faces no liability for potentially misclassifying its loan officers from the date of the DOL letter, September 8, 2006, onward. The court also adopted the magistrate’s decision denying the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment on the merits of the employer’s affirmative defense, based upon the exemption.

This entry was written by Andrew Voss.

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Intrastate haulers and slingers of trash and recyclables are exempt under the federal Motor Carrier Act according to a recent decision by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Craft, et al. v. Ray’s LLC and Donald Matthews, 1:08-cv-627-RLY-JMS (S.D. Ind.). The FLSA mandates that employers pay employees one and a half times their regular rate for each hour worked in excess of forty during a work week. 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1). Several exceptions to this rule exist, including one for employees “over whom the Secretary of Transportation has power to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service.” 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(1).The Motor Carrier Act exemption specifically applies to drivers, drivers’ helpers, loaders, and mechanics who participate in interstate commerce within the scope of their employment. 29 C.F.R. § 782.2(b)(2).

In Craft, the plaintiffs transported full containers from customer locations to Ray’s Recycling or a transfer location owned by Ray’s, within Indiana state lines. Trash and recyclables are sorted, with trash being taken by a Ray’s driver to an in-state landfill or incinerator. Recyclable material is shredded, compacted or baled in preparation for delivery to end recipients. Ray’s Recycling does not process recyclable scrap metal. Instead, a Ray’s driver transports scrap metal from Ray’s Recycling or a transfer station to Farnsworth Metals, Inc., an Indiana company owned by the majority shareholder of Ray’s. Ray’s Recycling, the transfer stations, and Farnsworth typically received advance purchase orders and shipping instructions from end recipients. Over 50% of the end recipients are out-of-state.

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Effective September 21, 2009, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Wage and Hour Compliance, adopted a new rule allowing employers to make payroll deductions for health club membership fees or for child care services if payment is authorized in writing by an employee or pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement and approved by the employer. In promulgating this new rule, the Department of Labor amended New Jersey Administrative Code § 12:55-2.1, which sets forth the very limited circumstances in which an employer may make a payroll deduction.
 

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