Advise a worker whether an employer's 'manager' label defeats an overtime claim. You have 60 minutes. To: Associate. Use the File and the Library only, then compare your draft with the rubric and the model answer below.
The assignment
To: Associate. From: Bea Mwangi, Partner. Re: Salgado, overtime. Our client, Tomas Salgado, worked at Northside Auto Parts for two years as 'assistant manager,' at $48,000 a year, working about 55 hours a week. His employer never paid overtime. Please draft a plain-language letter explaining whether he is owed overtime, what he could recover, and how long he has to sue. Use only the Library and make no promises.
File
Client interview
Mr. Salgado's title was assistant manager, but he spent most of his time stocking shelves, running the register, and unloading trucks. The store manager, Gail Whitcomb, made all hiring, firing, and scheduling decisions. Mr. Salgado had no authority to hire or fire, though he sometimes gave Ms. Whitcomb his opinion about new hires. He earned $48,000 a year in salary, worked 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. six days a week with a short lunch, and kept no timecards. He left the job three months ago.
Job description
Assistant Manager: assists the Store Manager, supervises the counter, and performs duties assigned by the Store Manager.
Library
Franklin Wage Act, section 40-210
An employer must pay an employee one and one-half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a week. An employee employed in a bona fide executive capacity is exempt if the employee (a) is paid a salary of at least $684 a week, (b) has the primary duty of managing the business or a department, (c) directs the work of two or more employees, and (d) has authority to hire or fire, or whose suggestions on hiring and firing are given particular weight. A title alone does not make an employee exempt. An employee may recover unpaid overtime, an equal amount as liquidated damages, and attorney fees. The claim must be brought within two years, or three years for a willful violation.
An 'assistant manager' at a hardware store spent most of his time on the sales floor and stocking. Held: not exempt. The primary duty is determined by what the employee actually does, not by the job title, and an employee who spends most of the time on routine tasks does not have management as a primary duty. Occasional supervision does not change the result. The employer bears the burden of proving an exemption.
An employer that misclassified an employee did not keep time records. Held: when an employer fails to keep records, an employee may prove hours worked by reasonable estimate, and the employer must rebut it. A violation is willful if the employer knew or showed reckless disregard for whether its conduct was prohibited. A good-faith reliance on a title is not enough to prove willfulness.
What graders look for in this task
Graders score a response against these criteria, and every one of them depends on using only the facts in the File and only the rules in the Library, so treat the list as a check for your draft after the first pass and again before you stop writing.
Writes in plain language addressed to Mr. Salgado
Explains that a title alone does not create an exemption
Applies the four executive exemption elements and identifies the weak points: primary duty and hire or fire authority
Applies Bautista to conclude he was probably not exempt
Notes the employer's burden to prove the exemption
Explains recovery of unpaid overtime, liquidated damages, and fees
Explains Coyle on proving hours without timecards
States two years, or three if willful, and warns about the deadline and that willfulness is uncertain