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The First Circuit Takes a Deeper Look into Employee Exemption Decisions

January 25, 2023

Via: JD Supra

On January 11, 2023, the First Circuit (the federal Court of Appeals covering MA, RI, NH, ME and Puerto Rico) issued its decision in Walsh v. Unitil Service Corp., which scrutinized an employer’s evaluation of whether its employees qualified as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) administrative exemption.

The United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) initiated this case in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire alleging that employer Unitil Service Corporation (“USC”) failed to pay overtime to its dispatchers and controllers. While the lower court granted USC’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the case on legal grounds, the First Circuit vacated that decision, disagreeing with the lower court on its interpretation that the dispatchers and controllers fell within the administrative exemption to the FLSA.

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