Truck dispatchers whose daily tasks involved ensuring that the company’s product was delivered “timely and efficiently” were not performing exempt administrative duties under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal district court rules.

The company had classified the dispatchers as exempt from overtime pay under the FLSA’s administrative employee test, which requires duties that are “directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers,” and the exercise of “discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance” in work performed, the court notes.

“The tasks performed by plaintiffs were not administrative tasks of the type every business must undertake, such as those performed by accountants, personnel officers, and computer programmers,” court says, adding that even if it were to accept the company’s contentions that the dispatchers exercised “some degree” of discretion and independent judgment when they “changed routes and delivery schedules, added additional drivers, assigned drivers, reviewed the drivers’ logs, and handled driver accident reports, the level of independent judgment exercised would not qualify for the administrative exemption.” Iaria et al v. Metro Fuel Oil Corp.