Tag Archives: “exempt status”

Louisiana District Court Decertifies FLSA Class of Warehouse Supervisors

By Greg Mersol on December 4, 2019 Posted in FLSA

We’ve noted many times that while employees prevail on most motions for conditional certification under the FLSA, employers tend to prevail on the second stage motion for decertification. A recent case reflects that continuing reality, but also highlights weaknesses in the two-stage paradigm that work to the disadvantage employers irrespective of the merits (or lack … Continue Reading

Faulty Statistics Lead to Decertification of California Wage and Hour Case

By Greg Mersol on February 9, 2018 Posted in Wage and Hour

Nearly four years ago, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in the case of Duran v. U.S. Bank National Ass’n, 59 Cal. 4th 1 (2014), in which it virtually catalogued the many problems inherent in the plaintiffs’ statistical case that purported to demonstrate that a class of 260 outside salespeople were misclassified as exempt. … Continue Reading

Court Denies Conditional Certification of Overtime Class of Loss Prevention Employees

By Greg Mersol on April 16, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour

Yet another court has denied conditional certification of an FLSA overtime case. While, for a time, courts seemed to accept motions for conditional certification uncritically, more courts are questioning the plaintiffs’ showing even at an early stage. These courts are also going to very purpose behind the two-step procedure and refusing to certify cases on … Continue Reading

California District Court Refuses To Certify Overtime Class of Hertz Managers

By Greg Mersol on March 4, 2011 Posted in Class Certification, Overtime Claims, Wage and Hour

It’s easy to forget that cases to the Supreme Court are in many ways like any other case and their own histories following Supreme Court review. Almost no-one, for example, could readily identify the individual appointed to the position sought by William Marbury after the Supreme Court’s Marbury v. Madison.pdf decision. While almost anyone can describe, … Continue Reading

Federal Court in New Jersey Decertifies FLSA Class of 1,500 Home Depot Assistant Managers

By Gilbert Brosky on February 21, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Overtime Claims, Wage and Hour

A federal court in New Jersey recently decertified an FLSA class of 1,500 Home Depot merchandising assistant store managers (“MASMs”) who claimed they were misclassified as exempt executive employees. (Aquilino v. Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc.pdf., No. 04-04100 (D. N.J. Feb. 15, 2011). The court determined that because the job responsibilities and duties varied from MASM … Continue Reading

Court Finds Insurance Claims Adjusters Exempt

By Greg Mersol on January 14, 2011 Posted in Independent Contractors, Wage and Hour

I wasn’t sure whether to caption this “Oh, How The Mighty Have Fallen” or “What A Difference A Decade Makes.” Only ten years ago, in Bell v. Farmers Insurance Exchange, 87 Cal. App. 4th 805, cert. denied, 534 U.S. 1041 (2001), a California Court of Appeals sent shock waves through the insurance industry by affirming … Continue Reading

The Southern District of Florida Gives Employers Another Reason To Be Thankful

By Jeffrey Vlasek on November 24, 2010 Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour

Much like the 2010 San Francisco Giants, at first glance, the court’s ruling in Dipasquale v. Docutek Imaging Solutions, Inc. et al.pdf Case No. 10-cv-60349-JEM (S.D. Fl. Nov. 12, 2010) appears to be nothing to write home about. Upon closer inspection, however (and in the case of the Giants, eight months and a World Series championship … Continue Reading

Court Finds Convenience Store Managers Exempt

By Greg Mersol on November 22, 2010 Posted in FLSA, Overtime Claims, Retail, Wage and Hour

Managers and assistant managers at retail locations have been the focus of many wage and hour class or collective action lawsuits. In these cases, the employer often asserts that the employee is exempt under the executive exemption and the employee contends that there was not enough discretion or exempt work to warrant application of the … Continue Reading

In Overtime Collective Actions, Primary Duties Are . . . Primary Duties

By Greg Mersol on October 20, 2010 Posted in Primary Duties Test

Many overtime cases challenge the exempt status of the members of the putative class and, more specifically, contest whether their “primary” duties are exempt and therefore meet the requirements of the exemptions relied upon by the employer.. This inquiry is made somewhat more difficult because of the differences in federal law and the laws of … Continue Reading