By Steve Jones, JD, Jack Nelson Jones & Bryant, P.A
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The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals—which covers Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota—recently reversed a district court’s decision that an employee wasn’t exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) because her primary duties weren’t related to her employer’s management or general business operations.
Facts
Northern States Power Company-Minnesota (NSP) provides gas and electricity to customers throughout Minnesota. Veronica Grage worked for NSP for more than 30 years and was eventually promoted to a supervisor I position at its Chestnut Service Center.
Grage was a salaried employee classified by NSP as exempt from overtime pay under the administrative exemption of the FLSA. At the end of 2013, she retired and sued NSP for failing to pay her overtime while she worked as a supervisor I, in violation of the FLSA.