By Bradley Strawn and Kimberly Gost Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated opinion in Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., one of the only U.S. Supreme Court cases to address overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the first to address the criteria for the application of the “outside sales”… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Outside Sales Exemption
Seventh Circuit: Pharmaceutical Sales Reps Are Exempt Administrative Employees
By Michele Malloy The Seventh Circuit has weighed in on the employers’ side of the pharmaceutical sales representative exemption issue, finding that pharmaceutical sales representatives at Abbott Laboratories, Inc. and Eli Lilly & Company were properly classified as exempt under the administrative exemption to the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Overtime for Pharmaceutical Representatives
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., a case to determine whether pharmaceutical sales representatives (PSRs) qualify for the outside sales exemption under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Supreme Court’s opinion will settle a split between the Second and Ninth Circuits in which the Second Circuit… Continue Reading
Ninth Circuit Issues Strong Rebuke to Department of Labor, Upholds Outside Sales Exemption for Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives
In Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham, the Ninth Circuit issued a strong rebuke to the Department of Labor (and cemented a circuit split) in a remarkable decision upholding the “outside sales” exemption for Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives. To learn more about the decision and its implications for employers, please continue reading at Littler’s Wage & Hour Counsel blog.
Second Circuit: Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives Non-Exempt
On July 6, 2010 the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in In re Novartis Wage and Hour Litigation (“In re Novartis”)1 that Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation’s pharmaceutical sales representatives (“Reps”) did not meet the requirements of the administrative or outside sales exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and therefore were incorrectly classified as… Continue Reading
HMO Marketing Reps Challenge Exempt Status
Yet another class action has been filed in federal court challenging the exemption status of employees in the healthcare industry under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This time, in Li v. Health Plus, the challenge comes from marketing representatives for a health maintenance organization (HMO) who go to various locations, such as schools, churches, hospitals,… Continue Reading