Call center employees working for Maximus, a government contractor, have filed suit in federal court in Idaho seeking overtime pay owed them. The employees claim that they were wrongly misclassified as exempt from overtime pay requirements. They worked as trainers and first-line supervisors but claim that they did not exercise any real independent judgment or discretion. Maximus has recently begun paying overtime to the employees but refused to pay the overtime that the employees had earned previously.
Source: Bloomberg
It appears that Maximus decided that the employees were exempt from overtime pay requirements because they had training and supervision responsibilities, which led the company to conclude that they fell within the administrative exemption. But the administrative exemption requires that the employee use independent discretion and judgment, not have their decisions and actions strictly dictated by a company procedures manual. Read more about the administrative exemption: What is the Administrative Exemption to the Overtime Pay Requirement?
Lexington, Kentucky overtime lawyer Robert Abell represents employees seeking to recover the overtime pay they've earned but not been paid; contact him at 859-254-7076. Contact his office with your questions about overtime pay requirements or the administrative exemption.
