An “escrow manager” classified as an administrative employee by the employer can proceed on her claim of unpaid overtime and retaliatory discharge under the Fair Labor Standards Act, rules a federal district court in Arkansas.

The case involves a claim by a real estate transaction employee who was paid a salary of $50,000 per year to perform duties that included preparing documents, ordering items needed for closing, working with lenders with regard to payoffs, working with title insurance companies, and dealing with clients. The employee subsequently made a demand for paid overtime, which the company refused, and less than one week later terminated her employment. She filed suit alleging willful failure to pay overtime and termination in retaliation for demanding that she be paid overtime.

The company argued that she was an administrative employee under the FLSA and was thus exempt from overtime compensation, and contended that punitive damages were not recoverable under the FLSA.

The court finds that although the company said her job duties involved “the regular exercise of discretion and independent judgment,” the former employee said “she had no authority to hire or fire anyone, had no employees whom she supervised or directed, had no authority to create or implement operating practices, had no involvement in planning for the business, and had no authority regarding how [the company] conducted business…that her job duties ‘included adhering to well-established procedures and standards regarding real estate transactions, real estate closings, title insurance and title-related work, and escrow accounting.’” The court decides that this created “an issue of fact” in the test for an exempt administrative employee, and rejects the employer’s bid for summary judgment.

Regarding the punitive damage claim, the court notes that the Eighth Circuit, which controls its jurisdiction, “ has interpreted the statute to prohibit discrimination against an employee who asserts or threatens to assert FLSA rights.” (The Ninth Circuit, which oversees Hawaii, has affirmed an award of punitive damages in an FLSA-retaliation case but did not address the issue of whether the statute allows punitive damages, according to the court.) Wolfe v. Clear Title LLC