In the case of Grage v. Northern States Power Co., Veronica Grage filed a lawsuit against her employer, Northern States Power Company-Minnesota (NSP), for allegedly violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Grage claimed that NSP failed to provide her with overtime compensation.
Grage had worked for NSP as a supervisor for their service center. Due to that, NSP had classified her as exempt from overtime pay under the administrative exemption of the FLSA. Grage argued that her main duty was to schedule and dispatch NSP’s work crews, but NSP mentioned that her duties involved developing and managing daily work plans, assigning tasks, and overseeing NSP’s operations.
The initial ruling of the court was a summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff. However, the appellate court decided that there were significant differences in Grage’s job description as provided by both Grage and NSP.
Therefore, the appellate court reversed the initial ruling that granted summary judgment in favor of Grage. The case was remanded. The ultimate ruling is undetermined.
Key lessons from this case:
- An administrative exemption applies to employees whose duties are in the office or non-manual work that is directly related to the management or general operation of the company.
- The employer must provide enough evidence to show that their employee is exempt if they refuse to pay overtime.
- A court’s ruling can be reversed if one side of the party chooses to appeal the case.
If you want to know more about overtime regulations, read our guide on Minnesota Overtime Laws.
