Yesterday, the 3rd Circuit reviewed a decision of a lower court and reversed its conclusion that several deputy coroners were entitled to the 'personal staff' exemption under the FLSA. The court noted that the exemption is an affirmative defense that once the employees establish their employment the employer must raise as a defense, but that under 3rd Circuit precedent can be raised at any time unless the plaintiffs are prejudiced. The court reviewed the law from other jurisdictions and noted "By far the leading case on the personal staff exception is the Fifth Circuit's decision in Teneyuca v. Bexar County, 767 F.2d 148, 151 (5th Cir. 1985)." After applying the standards the court remanded the case to determine the extent to which the coroner exercised personal supervision of the deputies saying in conclusion:
"The personal staff exception is meant to carve out from the FLSA's protections those who work closely with an elected official in a sensitive position of trust and confidence and over whom the official exercises personal control. In this case, we cannot conclude that the Deputy Coroners in Schuylkill County fall under the personal staff exception based on undisputed facts. Thus, we vacate the District Court's order granting summary judgment and remand for further proceedings."
Clews v COUNTY OF SCHUYLKILL https://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/202216p.pdf
Charles W. Thompson, Jr.
Executive Director/General Counsel
P: (202) 466-5424 x7110
M: (240) 876-6790
D: (202) 742-1016
[facebook icon]https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMunicipalLawyersAssociation/[twitter icon]https://twitter.com/imlalegal[linkedin icon]https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-municipal-lawyers-association-inc./
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51 Monroe St. Suite 404
Rockville, MD, 20850
www.imla.orghttp://www.imla.org/
Plan Ahead!
IMLA's 86th Annual Conferencehttps://imla.org/annual-conference/, Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 2021 in Minneapolis, MN IN-PERSON or VIRTUAL!
IMLA's 2022 Mid-Year Seminarhttps://imla.org/seminars/, April 8-11, 2022 in Washington, D.C.!
Yesterday, the 3rd Circuit reviewed a decision of a lower court and reversed its conclusion that several deputy coroners were entitled to the 'personal staff' exemption under the FLSA. The court noted that the exemption is an affirmative defense that once the employees establish their employment the employer must raise as a defense, but that under 3rd Circuit precedent can be raised at any time unless the plaintiffs are prejudiced. The court reviewed the law from other jurisdictions and noted "By far the leading case on the personal staff exception is the Fifth Circuit's decision in Teneyuca v. Bexar County, 767 F.2d 148, 151 (5th Cir. 1985)." After applying the standards the court remanded the case to determine the extent to which the coroner exercised personal supervision of the deputies saying in conclusion:
"The personal staff exception is meant to carve out from the FLSA's protections those who work closely with an elected official in a sensitive position of trust and confidence and over whom the official exercises personal control. In this case, we cannot conclude that the Deputy Coroners in Schuylkill County fall under the personal staff exception based on undisputed facts. Thus, we vacate the District Court's order granting summary judgment and remand for further proceedings."
Clews v COUNTY OF SCHUYLKILL https://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/202216p.pdf
Charles W. Thompson, Jr.
Executive Director/General Counsel
P: (202) 466-5424 x7110
M: (240) 876-6790
D: (202) 742-1016
[facebook icon]<https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMunicipalLawyersAssociation/>[twitter icon]<https://twitter.com/imlalegal>[linkedin icon]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-municipal-lawyers-association-inc./>
[logo]<https://imla.org/>
51 Monroe St. Suite 404
Rockville, MD, 20850
www.imla.org<http://www.imla.org/>
Plan Ahead!
IMLA's 86th Annual Conference<https://imla.org/annual-conference/>, Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 2021 in Minneapolis, MN IN-PERSON or VIRTUAL!
IMLA's 2022 Mid-Year Seminar<https://imla.org/seminars/>, April 8-11, 2022 in Washington, D.C.!
