Sales reps for the phamaceutical giant, Novartis, are not exempt from overtime requirements the Second Circuit ruled recently In re Novartis Wage & Hour Litigation, No 09-0437 (July 6, 2010). The court rejected arguments that the reps were exempt under either the "outside sales" exemption and/or the "administrative" exemption.
The court ruled that the reps were not exempt from overtime under the "outside sales" exemption because they did not actually make any sales, they function as promoters and the "sales" calls typically go as follows:
The meetings are brief -- generally less than five minutes -- and the physicians neither buy pharmaceuticals from the Reps nor commit to buying anything from the Reps or from Novartis.
The reps do not fall under the "administrative" exemption the court ruled because (a) they have no authority to formulate, affect, interpret or implement Novartis's management policies or its operating practices; (b) they are not involved in planning Novartis's long or short term business objectives; (c) they do not carry out major assignments in conducting the operations of Novartis's business; and, (d) they do not have any authority to commit Novartis in matters that have significant financial impact.
