Fact Issues Whether Automobile Damage Appraiser Was FLSA Exempt Administrative Employee
A property and casualty insurance company was not entitled to summary judgment in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime action on the ground the employee, an automobile damage appraiser or adjuster, was an exempt administrative employee.
The employer had not met its burden of showing the employee was engaged in activities "directly related" to the management or general business operations of the insurer or its customers. The adjuster had no role in advising management or effecting policies that would make the business run more efficiently. The only undisputed aspects of his job duties, visually inspecting damaged automobiles, writing estimates, and reaching agreements with auto body shops regarding repair costs, did not, standing alone, constitute "servicing of the business" in the manner intended by the regulations.
A genuine issue of material fact
also existed as to whether the employee exercised "discretion and independent
judgment," the third element of the administrative exemption.
Neary v. Metropolitan
Property and Cas. Ins. Co.