In the case of Counts v. South Carolina Electric & Gas Co., 17 salaried employees of South Carolina Electric and Gas Company (SCE & G) filed a lawsuit for unpaid overtime wages. These 17 employees were stationed to work at a nuclear station and were doing routine maintenance. The employees were then reassigned and asked to perform outage-specific tasks, often resulting in overtime work hours.
The employees were administrative employees who were exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). However, they claimed that they should receive overtime pay for being asked to perform other duties that were considered nonexempt from overtime pay.
The court examined the FLSA regulations and found that the exemption status applied to these 17 employees as they earned salaried above a specific threshold. The court concluded that employees were correctly classified as exempt administrative employees.
Ultimately, the court granted summary judgment in favor of SCE & G.
Key lessons from this case:
- The case shows how employers can sometimes assign salaried employees to other nonexempt tasks without affecting their exemption from overtime pay.
- Employees earning a salary above a specified threshold may be exempt from overtime pay eligibility, regardless of their tasks during specific periods.
- Despite being exempt from overtime pay, employees should always question their overtime rights when they feel like they are being exploited.
If you want to know more about overtime regulations, read our guide on South Carolina Overtime Laws.
