A recent case decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (covering Alabama, Georgia, and Florida) analyzed whether property damage investigators were appropriately classified as overtime-exempt administrative employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).

As a reminder, the administrative exemption applies when the following criteria are satisfied:

• The employee is compensated on a salary or fee basis of at least $684 per week;

• The employee’s primary is the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers; and

• The employee’s primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance

With this set of criteria in mind, employers frequently classify non-manual workers who exercise discretion over significant matters as exempt. However, the case at issue, Fowler et al. v. OSP Prevention Group, Inc. and Marbry, provides a reminder that this may not be enough to satisfy the administrative exemption.

The appellate court specifically distinguished between “production” and “administrative” work, explaining that “production” employees who perform the “core service” that an employer offers to its clients do not satisfy the administrative exemption. That is because such individuals are not performing work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer...

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