New Jersey Lawyers BlogU.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Employer’s Burden for Proving that Employee is Exempt From Overtime
In lawsuits where employees claim their employer wrongfully withheld overtime or minimum wage, if the employer claims that the employees were “exempt” it bears the burden of proving that they actually met the requirements of the exemption under the Federal Fair Labor
Standards Act. There was a split among the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals regarding what that burden of proof was. The United States Supreme Court has now resolved that conflict in the case of E.M.D. Sales Inc. v. Carrera.
Wage and Hour Protections for New Jersey Employees
New Jersey employment law provides that employers must pay minimum wage and overtime to most employees unless they are exempt. The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act provides similar protections. The main exemptions under both Federal and New Jersey employment law are similar. Administrative, executive, professional and “outside sales” employees are exempt from minimum wage and overtime provided they make a minimum salary.
penalties for violations. In August 2024, the New Jersey Legislature further strengthened these laws to prevent employers from taking advantage of complaining employees because of their immigration status.
recovery of attorneys fees, enhanced damages, and a longer, six-year statute of limitations. One question left open by the Legislature was whether the statute of limitations would be applied retroactively to cover conduct prior to the amendments, or prospectively to cover only conduct from 2019 onward. The New Jersey Supreme Court has now unambiguously answered that question.
and a half”) for work beyond forty hours in any week. However, there are exceptions. The major exemptions are for executive, administrative, professional, and highly compensated employees. In addition to the requirements particular to each exemption, the employees cannot be paid less than the threshold for the exemption.
order to be considered an exempt employee under the exemption for “professional” employees, an employee must be paid on a “salary basis,” make at least $684 per week, and her work must require advanced knowledge in a field which is normally acquired “by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction; or… requires invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor.”
wages that they are due, and sets forth the timing and procedures for payments and permitted deductions. This is a much-litigated area of New Jersey