Seyfarth Synopsis: In an important opinion for employers defending against misclassification claims, the Supreme Court has issued its first major employment law decision of the current term in EMD Sales v. Carrera, with two other marquee employment law cases still to be decided before the end of the current 2024-2025 term.
As 2025 ushers in a new presidential administration, the Supreme Court has already issued a consequential decision addressing employers’ burden of proof when asserting exemptions under the FLSA, and the high court is poised to make its mark in a number of other cases involving ERISA, the FLSA, the ADEA, and others, as well as two specific key cases of great interest to employers. Still to be decided are cases addressing the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act to claims of discrimination brought by former employees concerning discrimination occurring post-termination; and, the court’s first foray into the nature and standard of proof required to establish a viable claim of discrimination where the plaintiff belongs to a “majority” group.
1. EMD Sales v. Carrera: No Heightened Standard for Employers to Prove the Application of an Exemption from the FLSA. The FLSA guarantees payment of the minimum wage and overtime premium pay to many workers. Woven into the fabric of the statute, though, are a number of exemptions from the Act’s coverage—including the so-called “white collar” exemptions for professional, administrative, and...
Delta Air Lines has agreed to pay $8.1 million to settle allegations it violated pandemic aid rules by overpaying executives, according to a Department of Justice press release. The Atlanta-based ...