Troubling Trend In Overtime Cases

Employers are trying to use a recent Supreme Court decision, Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., to try to lower the burden in showing that a worker is exempt from (not eligible for) overtime. Indeed, employer defense law firms are drooling over this decision as a way to try to defeat worker overtime claim. See District Courts Make Plain Mistake In Applying A Heightened Burden Of Proof For Establishing An FLSA Exemption. Fortunately for us in Maryland and other states in the federal Fourth Circuit (Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and West Virginia), the Court of Appeals had held to the true and correct burden of proof standard – that an employer must prove an FLSA overtime exemption by "clear and convincing evidence." See Desmond v. PNGI Charles Town Gaming, LLC.