Auer v. Robbins

Citation65 F.3d 702
Decision Date08 September 1995
Docket Number94-3534,Nos. 94-3355,s. 94-3355
Parties130 Lab.Cas. P 33,275, 2 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1473 Francis Bernard AUER; Christopher James Day; James Gilbert Hall; Francis B. Corona; Anthony Pona; Michael T. Indelicato; Richard Buehler; James E. Long; Roy Burgdorf; Donald Swanson; Lionel Abernathy; Kenneth Ackerman; Alfred Adkins; Duane Alexander; Steve W. Alsup; Roger Amelung; James Anderson; Michael Anderson; Edward L. Atherton; Roosevelt Barnes, Jr.; Vernon Barton; Richard C. Bartram; Lee Bates; Darrel Battle; Robert W. Bayless; Michael Beck; Dennis Becker; Joseph D. Beffa; Chris Beffa; Michael Bergman; John Billings; Michael Blanks; Leonard Bober; Donald L. Bohnert; Robert L. Bonzon; Frank Booker; Fred Boyd; Kenneth M. Bradshaw; Robert Brennan; Joseph Burgoon; John M. Burke; Thomas Burke; Jay Burkhard; Shadrach J. Burks; Al Carter; Michael Caruso; Salvatore Chrum; Earl Cobb; Walter Collier; Donald Columbo; Clarence Contestabile; Phillip P. Cornish; Don Cummings; Stanley Cunningham; Gordon Curd; Thomas J. Daley; Jerome Dampier; Robert Davis; Steve Debisschop; Robert Decker; Manuel Delgado; Edward S. Dickerson; Leman Dobbins; Jerry Dodson; James M. Doggendorf; Stephen Dougherty; Robert Downey; Robert J. Duffin; Daniel Duffy; Judith Dupius; Jimmie Lee Eads; Donald Ebner; Thomas Eckhard; Carl Edwards; Robert E. Farrell; Lawrence Flowers; Jackie Fowler; Leonard G. Forsting; Lynn D. Fox; Tommy Franklin; Michael Frederick; Nick Frederickson; Donald M. Frentzel; Bob Gavin; Robert George; Raymond L. Ghrist; Wilkie Glasener; James Glasscock; Thomas Godfrey; William Gooden; Joel Grant; Edward V. Graves; Darla Gray; Jesse Green; John D. Green; Robert C. Griffin, III; Ward Griggs; Wilburn Grove; Mike Guzy; Dennis Hahn; Kenneth Hahn; Arthur Hammer; Adolphus Hardy, Jr.; Donald Hardy; Steve Harmon; Ralph Harper; Edward Harper; Peggy Harris; Reggie Harris; Henry G. Harris; Gregory Hawkins; Mark Helmholt; Donald Henderson; Ronald Henderson; Leo Hertling; Stephen Hobbs; Susan Hobbs; Joseph Hoeing; Andrew Hollins; Jack W. Hu
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Michael Leibig, Washington, DC, argued (Aarron M. Nisenson, Robert Koster and Rudolfo Rivera, on the brief), for appellant.

John Renick, St. Louis, MO, argued (Judith A. Ronzio, on the brief), for appellee.

Before BOWMAN, MAGILL, and LOKEN, Circuit Judges.

MAGILL, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiffs appeal the district court's judgment, after a court trial, that twenty-one categories of St. Louis police sergeants are exempt from the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Defendants, all members of the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners (the board), cross-appeal the district court's finding that two categories of St. Louis police sergeants are partially nonexempt from the requirements of the FLSA. Because we believe that all of the St. Louis police sergeants are exempt from the FLSA, we affirm in part and reverse in part.

I. BACKGROUND

The St. Louis police department (the department) is divided into five separate bureaus. The department's basic patrol duties are the responsibility of the Bureau of Community Policing, which is divided into eight districts. The Bureau of Investigation investigates crimes throughout St. Louis. The Bureau of Patrol Support provides support functions to the districts and the Bureau of Community Policing. The Bureau of Administration provides administrative support to the department. And the Bureau of Professional Standards trains and reviews the performance of departmental personnel.

In addition to departmental divisions, there is vertical segregation between the command staff and the patrol staff of the department. The command staff includes all personnel at the rank of lieutenant and higher. Members of the command staff undertake the basic managerial duties of the department, and drive unmarked cars, wear white uniforms and do not regularly patrol the streets.

The department's patrol staff includes patrol officers, investigators and sergeants. Members of the patrol staff provide day-to-day law enforcement services to the public. Members of the patrol staff, including sergeants, patrol the streets of St. Louis, drive marked police cars and possess standard police equipment. Investigators, including sergeants, visit crime scenes, interview witnesses, follow leads, analyze results, make arrests and aid in prosecuting criminal suspects.

Pursuant to state statute, no St. Louis police officer with the rank of sergeant or higher is allowed overtime pay. 1 In October 1988, Francis Auer, Christopher Day and James Hall, all sergeants in the department, filed suit against the department, alleging that it failed to pay them overtime wage benefits in violation of the FLSA. Additional similarly situated plaintiffs, including one lieutenant, joined the suit by filing individual consent forms. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the police department with respect to Lt. Manuel Delgado, ruling that (1) any officer of the rank of lieutenant or higher was an exempt administrator; and (2) lieutenants and sergeants were salaried, not hourly employees. At the time of trial, there were over 200 plaintiffs, all of whom were either past or present sergeants in the department.

Plaintiffs' claims proceeded to a five-day bench trial. The district court found that sixteen sergeant positions were exempt from the FLSA under the executive exemption, 2 three sergeant positions were exempt under the administrative exemption, 3 and one sergeant position was exempt under the combined exemption. 4 The district court also found that two sergeant positions were partially nonexempt from the FLSA. 5 Both parties have appealed the decision of the district court.

II. DISCUSSION

As a general rule, the FLSA requires employers to pay overtime compensation to employees for hours worked in excess of a forty-hour work week. See 29 U.S.C. Sec. 207 (1988). However, under the FLSA, an employer does not have to pay overtime compensation to an employee working in "a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity." 29 U.S.C. Sec. 213(a)(1) (1988). The FLSA delegates the responsibility to define these terms to the Secretary of Labor. 29 U.S.C. Sec. 213(a)(1).

The regulations provide a "short test" and a "long test" to determine whether an employee falls under either the executive or the administrative exemption. 29 C.F.R. Secs. 541.1, 541.2. Under either test, the board bears the burden of proving that the exemption applies. The "short test" applies if an employee is paid a salary of at least $250 per week. Plaintiffs stipulated that they received at least...

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    • October 6, 2004
    ... ... Auer v. Robbins, 65 F.3d 702, 713 (8th Cir.1995) ... The factors we need to consider in deciding whether a sergeant's primary duty is management if the ... ...
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