FLSA Exemption for Outside Sales Employees

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees in Florida must be paid at least the minimum wage for all hours worked in each pay period, and they must be paid at an “overtime” rate of 1.5 times their usual rate of pay if they work more than 40 hours in a single work week. While this requirement applies to a wide range of employees, including those who work on an hourly basis and some who work on a salary basis, the FLSA also sets forth exemptions. When an employee is “exempt,” their employer is not required to comply with FLSA minimum wage and overtime rules. Yet for many employees, a misclassification of exempt versus non-exempt can mean a lot of money if the employee is actually due overtime wages.

There are multiple types of jobs that are considered exempt under the FLSA, including an “outside sales” exemption. Our Palm Beach Gardens wage and hour attorneys can tell you more about the outside sales exemption, and if you believe you were improperly classified as an exempt employee, we can help you to seek the overtime pay you may be owed.

Defining the Outside Sales Exemption 

What does “outside sales” mean? In short, in order to have a job in which you are classified as an employee who fits into the outside sales exemption, the following must be true:

• Employee must have a primary duty of making sales, or obtaining client or customer orders or contracts for services or facilities use (to be paid by the client or customer); and
• Employee must “customarily and regularly” perform their primary duty away from their employer’s primary place of business (thus the “outside sales” description).

The FLSA defines “making sales” to include sales, exchanges, contracts, consignments, shipments, and similar. It can also include tangible property or title transfers and similar. If you have been classified as exempt under the outside sales exemption but you do not believe these requirements all apply to you, it is important to seek legal advice because you could be owed overtime pay.

No Salary Requirements for the Outside Sales Exemption 

It is important to know that there are no salary requirements for an employee to be considered exempt through the outside sales exemption. While other exemptions require employees to be paid on a salary basis, and also require employees to earn a minimum threshold salary in order to be considered exempt, these salary requirements or tests do not apply to the outside sales exemption.

Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Wage and Hour Attorney 

The exemptions under the FLSA can be complicated, and employers who make errors are not always intending to prevent employees from receiving the pay they are due. If you were misclassified and are actually a non-exempt employee who is owed overtime pay, our firm can begin working on your case today. One of the experienced Palm Beach Gardens wage and hour lawyers at Sconzo Law Office can discuss your options, including an initial communication with your employer filed by the possibility of a wage and hour claim. Contact us today for more information.

Sources:

dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/17a-overtime

dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/17f-overtime-outside-sales