It’s a hot topic for many employers right now: how to determine whether an employee is exempt or nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The recent decision in Williams v. Genex Services could help. In this case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit considered whether a registered nurse (RN), who said that she was not an exempt employee, was owed overtime pay by her employer.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

The employer provided services to help control health care and disability costs for companies and ensure quality health care for injured workers. It hired the plaintiff as a field medical case manager (FMCM) at a salary of more than $80,000 annually. The state required that an FMCM be a licensed RN, which the plaintiff was.

As part of her job, the plaintiff:

• Assessed injured workers’ medical conditions and treatments,
• Monitored workers’ conditions,
• Educated workers and insurance companies about the worker’s injuries and treatment,
• Made recommendations for alternative treatments,
• Developed individualized care plans to assist workers in returning to work, and
• Prepared status reports on the workers’ progess.

The plaintiff admitted that, when developing care plans and status reports, she used her medical knowledge and training.

DEFINING “EXEMPT”

Department of Labor (DOL) regulations define an employee employed in a bona fide professional capacity as someone who is compensated on a salary basis of at least $455 per week. In addition, that person’s primary duty is the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning that’s customarily acquired in a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction. A person employed in a bona fide professional capacity is exempt from overtime.

The plaintiff argued that she didn’t perform exempt work because a layperson could perform her job duties, which were mostly clerical and of a routine nature. She claimed that she acted merely as a liaison between the employers and doctors and was “nothing more than a scribe relaying information back to the adjustors.”

The plaintiff’s employer argued that she wasn’t entitled to overtime compensation because she was exempt based on the undisputed facts of her job responsibilities and position. The employer further claimed that the plaintiff exercised independent judgment and discretion frequently, wasn’t closely super- vised and used her RN skills on a daily basis. The employer moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff fell under the “learned professional” exemption of the FLSA and wasn’t entitled to overtime. The trial court ruled in favor of the employer.

On appeal, the Fourth Circuit stated that the plaintiff’s own description of her core job responsibilities under-mined her argument that her work was primarily clerical.What’s more, it said, the evidence demonstrated that the plaintiff regularly used her skills, training and knowledge as an RN to perform her duties, and she had to use her advanced nursing knowledge to analyze and make deductions. Furthermore, the plaintiff performed her work with minimal supervision and received a high salary. The court believed that this last fact created doubt as to whether the plaintiff would fall within the FLSA’s intended protected class, which is designed to protect lower-paid workers.

DUTIES, NOT TITLE

Employers can draw several conclusions from the case’s outcome. Perhaps the most important is that an employee’s exempt or nonexempt status depends on the individual’s actual primary duty, not his or her educational background or job title.

To avoid potential legal action, ensure that your employees’ primary job duties fall within the exemption you’re seeking to use. This means that, for example, if you’re seeking to use the learned professional exemption, it’s not enough that an employee possesses a qualifying degree. That employee also must use the degree or knowledge acquired in his or her daily work duties.