Third Circuit Holds Administrative Exemption Under FLSA Applicable to Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, a division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), enforces the anti-discrimination provisions of Section 274B of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This statute prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee that is based on an individual’s national origin or citizenship status. The statute also prohibits unfair documentary practices during the employment eligibility verification (Form I-9) process, and retaliation or intimidation.

For the second consecutive day, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued an important employment law decision. Today, in a 7-2 ruling, the high court held that submitting an “intake questionnaire” and a detailed affidavit to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is equivalent to filing a charge for purposes of the exhaustion of administrative remedies requirement under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). According to the majority: “The agency’s determination that respondent’s December 2001 filing was a charge is a reasonable exercise of its authority to apply its own regulations and procedures in the course of the routine administration of the statute it enforces.”

In light of the fact that several New Jersey cities have recently passed local ordinances requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees, momentum is growing for the New Jersey legislature to pass a similar law statewide.