A recent unpaid overtime ruling, while not occurring here in Georgia, is potentially significant to workers and employers here who find themselves embroiled in a dispute regarding the applicability of an exemption to the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The recent case involved the proper burden of proof for proving an overtime exemption. Things like that may sound minute to a layperson, but issues like burdens of proof can swing a success to a defeat or vice versa. Given all the legal details essential to presenting and winning an unpaid overtime case, as well as the high stakes involved, it is worth your while to seek out an experienced Atlanta unpaid overtime lawyer to represent you.
The employees were sales representatives working for a food products distributor. The representatives sued the employer for unpaid overtime in violation of the FLSA. The employer countered by asserting that the representatives fell within the “outside sales” exemption, which meant that the employer had no legal obligation to pay overtime compensation.
The workers went to trial in a Maryland federal court and won. The court concluded that the law required the employer to prove the application of the exemption by “clear and convincing evidence,” and that the distributor did not clear that hurdle.