Do you employ outside salespeople (pharmaceutical reps, for instance)? If so, then you are going to want to pay attention to what will transpire at the U.S. Supreme Court next year.
Yesterday, the Court agreed to hear Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham. This case will address two issues:
- Whether deference is owed to the Secretary's interpretation of the Fair Labor Standards Act's outside sales exemption and related regulations; and
- Whether the Fair Labor Standards Act's outside sales exemption applies to pharmaceutical sales representatives.
While issue #2 is more practical, issue #1 has the potential to have the greatest long-term impact. It is no secret that the DOL—with its sweeping enforcement scheme and broad regulatory interpretations—is the bane of employers everywhere. This case has the potential to serve as a judicial referendum on the scope of its regulatory authority. A rebuke by the Supreme Court of the DOL on this narrow issue could signal that the agency’s powers are not as broad as it currently envisions, reigning in the DOL’s other attempts to broaden employee rights via regulatory interpretations.
For more coverage of this important wage and hour development, please click over and read the thoughts of others who got to this headline before me:
- SCOTUS will hear FLSA pharma sales rep case – from LawMemo Employment Law Blog
- SCOTUS Grants Cert. in FLSA Case – from Lawffice Space
- Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Outside Sales Exemption – from SmartHR
- Supreme Court to Decide Whether Pharma. Sales Reps Are Covered by Outside Sales Exemption – from ZR Workplace Law
- Supreme Court To Decide Whether Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives Meet The FLSA’s Outside Sales Exemption – from The Wage and Hour Litigation Blog
- Supreme Court To Decide Classification of Pharmaceutical Representatives – from Wage and Hour Law Update
- Pharmaceutical Sales Representative Case Goes to Supreme Court – from Wage & Hour Insights