Rachel Lerner
Wed, 07/06/2022
In Fowler v. OSP Prevention Group, Case No. 19-12277 (June 27, 2022), the appellate court considered whether property damage investigators performed administrative services or production work for their employer. Employers are required to pay overtime to employees who work more than 40 hours a week under the FLSA. The Act exempts employees who perform the administrative work of running the business, such as human resources, finance, and advertising, from the overtime requirement.
The employer, OSP contracts with broadband service providers, such as Comcast, to investigate damage to the providers’ infrastructure. Plaintiffs worked as property damage investigators in Georgia, where they followed a step-by-step manual to investigate damage, determine who was liable, and calculate the cost of repairs. OSP classified them as administrative employees, and therefore, did not pay them for hours worked beyond a 40-hour work week.
The Eleventh Circuit found that, because the product OSP sells is the investigation work itself, the property damage investigators’ primary duty was performing production work for the company, rather than administrative work. While the court noted that the work the investigators perform is essential, that does not transform them into administrative employees. In distinguishing the damage investigators from insurance claims adjusters, a category of employees that are considered administrative (and exempt from the FLSA), the court noted that the investigators do not make any high-level business decisions, nor do they conduct settlements on behalf of OSP. Therefore, the core work the plaintiffs performed amounted to production work, making them non-exempt and entitled to overtime pay.
For more information on how employers improperly classify workers as exempt from the FLSA in order to avoid paying overtime, visit https://www.mselaborlaw.com/practice-areas/misclassified-ot-ineligible. If you believe you have been misclassified and are entitled to overtime pay, contact us at info@mselaborlaw.com.
