Forensic Pathology Services, P.C., et al. v. Robert Bumgardner, et al.

The FLSA exempts “administrative” employees as “defined and delimited” by the Secretary of Labor. 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1). The regulations turn on “the type of work performed by the employee,” 29 C.F.R. § 541.201(a), assessed “based on all the facts in a particular case,” id. § 541.700(a), and list “legal and regulatory compliance” as a qualifying functional area, id. § 541.201(b). The Eleventh Circuit held that employees who independently determine, under an external legal framework, whether their employer may accept incoming matters are not administratively exempt. The Fifth and Sixth Circuits treat that threshold function as administrative. The question presented is: Whether an employee whose primary duty is determining, under a legal and regulatory framework, the employer’s authority to accept incoming matters qualifies for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s administrative exemption.