MIAMI — Avis Budget Rental LLC appears to have settled its shift manager overtime pay lawsuit. A Florida federal judge has administratively closed the case indicating that the parties will not be going to trial. The parties now have 60 days to ask the court to approve the settlement or request a voluntary dismissal. Either way it appears the claim will go no further.
The Claim
The shift managers brought their Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claim against the car rental company in April 2010. They claimed the company misclassified themselves and other shift managers as exempt during their work at large airports. The exempt classification prevented the shift managers from qualifying for overtime pay. The Florida federal court granted conditional class certification in October 2011 for current and former shift managers who did not receive overtime pay when they completed more than 40 hours a week while working at any of the 82 airport Avis locations. The conditional class covered employees working as shift managers as far back as October 2008.
In May 2013, Avis requested the court decertify the class, claiming shift manager duties were not uniform across the board and each shift manager’s duties would need to be examined individually for fairness and to determine if misclassification occurred. The company claimed the shift managers did not provide any evidence that they had common job duties, which would prove the existence of a class or an across-the-board misclassification, or warrant a collective trial. However, in March 2014, the court approved the request of shift managers and those who opted-in to the lawsuit to move forward with second-stage certification. The court believed there was enough evidence showing the shift managers had “substantially the same job duties or responsibilities.” With the settlement pending, whether enough evidence was provided will not be answered, but at least both sides have reached an agreement.
Manager Exemption
Even though many people assume managers and management are exempt from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, a job title of manager does not automatically grant the exemption. Additionally, an employee with a job title that does not appear to be managerial could qualify as exempt. If this sounds confusing, that is because it often can be since many factors go into determining whether a position is exempt or nonexempt. For this reason, employers should evaluate each employee’s position individually. Employers do not always give each employee’s positions and responsibilities sufficient evaluation and misclassifications can occur rather easily, both intentionally and unintentionally.
If you believe your employer misclassified you as exempt and denied you proper overtime wages, contact our knowledgeable team of overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795 to discuss your situation. Or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our experienced legal team will evaluate your case. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.