Fenwick Employment Brief - October 2007

• California Court of Appeal Narrows Application of Administrative Exemption
• California Supreme Court Holds That Employees Claiming Disability Discrimination Must Prove They Are Qualified
• News Bites

California Court Of Appeal Narrows Application Of Administrative Exemption

In a decision narrowing the scope of the administrative exemption, a California Court of Appeal held in Harris v. Superior Court that insurance claims adjusters were improperly classified under the administrative exemption because they performed "production" rather than administrative work.

To qualify under California's administrative exemption, an employee must (among other requirements) be primarily engaged in office or non-manual work "directly related to management policies or general business operations" of the employer or its customers. The court found that the "directly related" language encompasses two requirements: (1) the work must be administrative as opposed to production