![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vampiricprose) wrote2025-03-14 03:33 pm
Legal Research Assignment
Activity Prompt:
“To: Student-Intern From: Partner Date: Today
Re: Research on Potential Claims
I've received the following inquiry from a store manager at Bargain Bin, a discount retail chain. Please look at the email below and research the law to determine if there is anything our firm can do to help. Let me know what you find out.
Thanks, Partner
Dear Law Firm,
I am a store manager at Bargain Bin, a discount retail chain with over 1,000 stores across the United States. I'm reaching out to see if I have a case against Bargain Bin for unpaid overtime wages. Store managers typically work 60 to 70 hours per week. Our duties include stocking shelves, running cash registers, unloading trucks, cleaning the store, and other manual labor tasks. We lack the authority to hire, promote, discipline, or terminate assistant managers without first obtaining permission from our district managers. We also cannot award employees pay raises or change the weekly schedules of hourly employees without district manager approval.
District managers closely supervise store operations and control store budgets, staffing levels, and employee pay rates. Store managers have little discretion to deviate from corporate directives or district manager instructions.
I believe that Bargain Bin is violating the law by not paying them overtime. I would like to discuss my case with you further.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely,
Store Manager
In this activity, you have received an email from a potential client describing a legal issue, and it is your job to determine whether they have a valid legal claim. Your task is to analyze the client’s situation, conduct legal research, and draft a post summarizing your findings.
Your post should include a concise executive summary (2-3 sentences) and identify relevant statutes and caselaw. Explain why the caselaw you selected is important. Include some secondary authorities such as a similar lawsuit and a law review article or legal treatise. Explain additional facts you’ll need to develop to fully assess this potential claim.”
Research Steps:
Plan
Misclassification of Employment Status
♡ Central to determining if mger is entitled to overtime pay
♡ If mger misclassified, labor law violations
Unpaid Overtime Wages
♡ If mger misclassified, mg entitled to $$$
Employer Control + Authority
♡ Strengthens argument that manager is not truly a decision maker
FLSA Violations
♡ If above points true, employer in violation
If all the above is found to be true, what are the next steps?
♡ Verify mger’s work schedules, pay records, mger/employee testimonies
♡ Identify relevant case law
★ Court decisions where similarly situated store mgers were deemed non-exempt and awarded overtime pay
★ Prioritize cases from the Orlando division of the US District court (AKA US District Court for the Middle District of Florida), federal trials, US Appellate court in the 11th circuit, or Supreme Court cases
♡ Check DoL Wage and Hour Division for opinion letters and enforcement policies for similar cases
♡ Plan ahead for potential actions and defences for Bargain Bin
★ Find rebuttals
♡ Know all the legal remedies
★ Law review articles / class action law suits
Research
Boolean Research Term: ("store manager" OR "retail manager") AND ("FLSA" OR "Fair Labor Standards Act") AND ("overtime pay" OR "unpaid wages") AND ("misclassification" OR
"non-exempt" OR "executive exemption") AND ("job duties" OR "primary duty test") AND "Middle District of Florida" OR "Eleventh Circuit" AND date:after 2018
Code of Federal Regulations: Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Overtime Pay Exemption Definitions:
★ FLSA Overtime Pay Exemption Definitions (29 CFR 541.201):
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-541/subpart- C/section-541.201
★ To qualify for overtime pay exemption:
♥ Employee’s primary duty is assisting with the running of the business
♥ AKA personnel management, budgeting, HR
★ 29 U.S.C. § 255(a): Schedules of Penalties
★ Department of Labor Fact Sheet #17A: Exemptions for Executive, Administrative,Professional, Computer & Outside Sales Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act(FLSA):
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/17a-overtime?utm_source=chatgpt.com
★ To qualify for overtime pay exemption:
♥ The employee must be compensated on a salary basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $684 per week;
♥ The employee’s primary duty must be managing the enterprise, or managing a customarily recognized department or subdivision of the enterprise;
♥ The employee must customarily and regularly direct the work of at least two or more other full-time employees or their equivalent; and
♥ The employee must have the authority to hire or fire other employees, or the employee’s suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring, firing, advancement, promotion or any other change of status of other employees must be given particular weight.
♥ Under these definitions, the mger is not exempt under the FLSA
Case Law
Morgan v Family Dollar Stores (2008) - 11th Circuit
★ Morgan v Family Dollar Stores (2008):
https://1-next-westlaw-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/Document/Iebde0629cb8811ddbc7bf97f340af743/View/FullText.html?navigationPath=Search%252Fv1%252Fresults%252Fnavigation%252Fi0a89dbf7000001959141abd9cd61a16b%253Fppcid%253D9edec0dc19c04da5b5741c25a01700bd%2526Nav%253DCASE%2526fragmentIdentifier%253DIebde0629cb8811ddbc7bf97f340af743%2526parentRank%253D0%2526startIndex%253D1%2526contextData%253D%252528sc.Search%252529%2526transitionType%253DSearchItem&listSource=Search&listPageSource=83f86c795ad7e2a036bb2cf4173f80aa&list=ALL&rank=1&sessionScopeId=80c6cb57aa3d908b7e65060b23
♡ Mgers filed a lawsuit saying they weren’t paid correctly
♡ Company argued mgrs were executive and filed a motion for summary judgment* but the judge denied the motion
♡ Court said that the jury decides if mgers did enough managerial work to be considered under the Executive Exemption under the FLSA
♡ Some managers didn’t supervise enough people to be classified as a manager under the law, but it didn’t impact the overall case much
♡ Court decided two things:
☾ Company purposefully ignored the overtime rule so the statue of limitations for wage-related claims was extended from 2 years to 3 years of backpay
☾ Ultimately sided with the managers
★ Case that defines “primarily managerial duties”
★ Disapproved by Hicks V Mercedes-Benz US International Inc (2012)
Hicks v Mercedes-Benz US International (MBSUI) Inc (2012): United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Western Division / 11th Circuit
★ Hicks v Mercedes-Benz US International inc (2012):
https://1-next-westlaw-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/Document/Ifff9cf00ba2411e7b3adf a6a631648d5/View/FullText.html?navigationPath=RelatedInfo%2Fv4%2Fkeycite%2Fnav
%2F%3Fguid%3DIfff9cf00ba2411e7b3adfa6a631648d5%26ss%3D2017665346%26ds
%3D2042953945%26origDocGuid%3DIebde0629cb8811ddbc7bf97f340af743%26docS ource%3D9ab44faeff08440b8c8067bc2c041c89%26rank%3D1&listSource=RelatedInfo &list=NegativeCitingReferences&rank=0&ppcid=82dc750ccc0f4345a66e17a83fdca938& originationContext=docHeader&transitionType=NegativeTreatment&contextData=%28sc
.Search%29
♡ Plaintiff classified as a Group Leader (GL) and exempt from overtime pay
♡ March 2006, MBSUI modified overtime policy for exempt employees, requiring GLs to complete 5 unpaid hours per week of pre + post shift activities to qualify for overtime
♡ MBSUI filed a motion for summary judgement*, asserting certain GLs were exempt
♡ Court denied the motion due to genuine issues of material fact about plaintiff’s duties + whether they qualified for the executive exemptions
♡ Case sent to court with a jury
♡ Jury ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, paid overtime wages
♡ MBSUI appealed, were denied
♡ Disapproves of Morgan v Family Dollar Stores (2008)
☾ Morgan established a ruling about executive exemption and allowed certain employees like store managers to be exempt if their job was primarily managerial
☾ Hicks challenged that GLs were exempt like in Morgan
☾ Hicks disagreed with exact reasoning in Morgan. Hicks found that certain GLs didn’t meet the exemption requirements
☾ Hicks found Morgan’s definition of primarily managerial too broad and helped expound on that definition
☾ Hicks disapproved of Morgan because it didn’t have a detailed enough definition of primarily managerial.
Posely v Eckerd Corp (2006): Florida
★ Posely v Eckerd Corp (2006):
https://1-next-westlaw-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/Document/I8681cedce76811da8c 5e8eef0920bc71/View/FullText.html?navigationPath=Search%2Fv1%2Fresults%2Fnavig ation%2Fi0a89dbf700000195952892a1cd6d1a9b%3Fppcid%3Db8703ec069a34fecaa16 71a9a90ac946%26Nav%3DCASE%26fragmentIdentifier%3DI8681cedce76811da8c5e8 eef0920bc71%26parentRank%3D0%26startIndex%3D1%26contextData%3D%2528sc. Search%2529%26transitionType%3DSearchItem&listSource=Search&listPageSource=1 4473ed7c8bdcfb592eff724dea2737a&list=ALL&rank=2&sessionScopeId=76f0548860c3 48c520a8eabb53e229eb24ba1764963d63a9904578d2824e6d20&ppcid=b8703ec069a3 4fecaa1671a9a90ac946&originationContext=Search%20Result&transitionType=SearchIt em&contextData=%28sc.Search%29
♡ Store mgers sued company claiming they were underpaid and should have received overtime pay
♡ Company filed a motion for summary judgement*, court agreed
♡ Store mgers main job is mgmt so they are exempt undr FLSA
♡ Company was decided to not have violated min wage laws
★ Shows that if your job is primarily managerial you are exempt. Client’s job is not
Draft
A store manager at Bargain Bin has inquired about a potential claim for unpaid overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The key issue is whether the store manager is misclassified as an exempt employee, thereby denying them overtime pay. Based on preliminary research, it appears that the manager may be incorrectly classified as exempt due to the nature of their job duties and the control exercised by district managers. Relevant case law, including Morgan v. Family Dollar Stores (2008) and Hicks v. Mercedes-Benz US International, Inc. (2012), supports the argument that the store manager’s role may not meet the FLSA’s executive exemption criteria.
Under the FLSA, employees must meet specific criteria to be classified as exempt from overtime pay. According to 29 CFR 541.201, an employee qualifies for the executive exemption if:
They earn at least $684 per week on a salary basis.
Their primary duty is managing the enterprise or a recognized department.
They regularly direct the work of at least two full-time employees.
They have the authority to hire or fire employees, or their recommendations carry significant weight.
The store manager in question performs substantial manual labor (stocking, cashiering, unloading), has little discretion in store operations, and lacks hiring/firing authority. These facts suggest that they may not meet the primary duty test for the executive exemption, meaning they could be misclassified as exempt and entitled to overtime wages. Some case law that supports this is:
Morgan v. Family Dollar Stores (2008) (11th Circuit): The court ruled that store managers who performed substantial non-managerial duties and lacked real
decision-making power were misclassified as exempt and entitled to overtime pay. This case closely mirrors our client’s situation.
Hicks v. Mercedes-Benz US International, Inc. (2012): The court ruled against broad interpretations of managerial duties, emphasizing that job titles alone do not determine exemption status. This supports the argument that the client’s responsibilities do not meet the FLSA’s executive exemption standard.
Posely v. Eckerd Corp. (2006) (Florida): In contrast, this case upheld an employer’s classification of store managers as exempt because their primary duty was management. However, the facts differ from our case, as our client performs extensive non-managerial tasks.
To fully evaluate the client’s claim, we need to gather work schedules and payroll records to confirm weekly hours worked and overtime pay eligibility, potentially some testimony from other store managers to establish a pattern of misclassification, and view the company policies and internal communications to assess the level of control district managers exert over store managers.
If we receive all the paperwork and find it in order, then we should file a Wage and Hour Division complaint with the DoL, pursue a lawsuit under the FLSA, potentially as a class action if other store managers are similarly affected, and work to anticipate Bargain Bin’s defenses, such as arguing that the manager’s primary duty is management.
Initial research suggests the store manager has a strong claim for unpaid overtime wages due to misclassification under the FLSA. Further fact-finding is necessary to solidify the case, but existing case law and labor regulations indicate that the employer may be in violation.