US Supreme Court Clarifies Proof Standard for Overtime Rule (1)

The US Supreme Court rejected a heightened standard of proof for showing workers are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime rules, making it easier for employers to show that employees aren’t entitled to overtime protections.

When a law is silent on the standard of proof, the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard typically applies, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the unanimous court on Wednesday.

Under that standard, employers must show that it’s more likely than not an employee is exempt from the overtime rules.

Employees for the international food distributor E.M.D. Sales said the higher clear-and-convincing standard was necessary to vindicate federal worker protections, including a fair workplace. But the justices rejected that argument, which would’ve required employers to show than an exemption was highly probable.

The more demanding standard is only “appropriate in certain other ‘uncommon’ cases,” Kavanaugh said.

The case resolved a lopsided circuit split in which most courts agreed the default preponderance rule was appropriate.

The court sent the case back to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to apply the correct standard.

The case is E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera, U.S., No. 23-217, opinion 1/15/25.