The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held that insurance investigators qualified for an administrative exemption from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

These employees work in an insurance company's Special Investigation Unit that provides investigative, informational and consulting services to detect and deter fraudulent insurance claims. Investigators spend the majority of their time investigating suspicious claims. The court reasoned that these activities are directly related to running or servicing the insurance company's business because they involve findings that bear directly on decisions regarding whether to pay or deny insurance claims. The court also upheld the district court's conclusion that the investigators exercise discretion and independent judgment regarding matters of significance because they resolve indicators of fraud and decide when to refer claims to law enforcement, both of which involve matters of significance to the employer. Read more.