Fifth Circuit Relies on Recent Supreme Court Ruling in Holding That Burden Is Now on Plaintiff To Prove Important Element of FLSA’s Motor Carrier Overtime Exemption

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, ruling that statutory exemptions contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) should not be construed narrowly, but “fairly” instead. This left lower courts to wrestle with how to apply this new rule of statutory construction.

In a case of first impression, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently became the first federal appeals court to apply the new “fairness” standard in the case of Carley v. Crest Pumping Technologies, LLC, No. 17-50226 (5th Cir. May 16, 2018), finding that the trial court improperly placed the burden of proof on the employer to demonstrate that the FLSA’s motor carrier exemption applied.

A copy of the Fifth Circuit’s opinion is available here.

Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.