In Antiskay v. Contemporary Graphics, 2013 U.S.  Dist. Lexis 180323 (D.N.J. 2013), the New Jersey federal district court held that an employer defeated an employee’s claim for overtime compensation by establishing the employee’s exemption from overtime eligibility under 29 U.S.C. 207 (a)(1).  Plaintiff Stanley Antiskay was employed by the defendant as a Production Planner/Customer Service.  He filed a claim for overtime benefits after his employment ended, claiming that he was a non-exempt hourly employee within the FLSA.  The Act provides an exemption for the obligation to pay overtime to employees who are employed in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity.

The employer has the burden of establishing the administrative exemption and must demonstrate that the employee is : (1) compensated on a salary or fee basis at a rate of not less than $455 per week…exclusive of board, lodging or other facilities; (2) whose primary duty is the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers; and (3) whose primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance. 29 C.F.R. 541.200(a).

The court held that the defendant’s failure to raise the defense in its answer did not bar it from raising the defense.  The court then held that the defendant had established the defense as a matter of law: (1) plaintiff was paid a set salary each week; (2) he performed relatively sophisticated duties at his job and less than 5% of his time involved manual labor; and (3) his job required him to exercise discretion and independent judgment such as the layout for new printing jobs.

Based upon the evidence, the court ruled that the employer was entitled to summary judgment and dismissed the FLSA claim.