Avoiding Overtime Pay Should Take Less Proof, Justices Told

The US Supreme Court should reject imposing a heightened standard of proof on employers who wish to use a federal wage law exemption to avoid paying workers overtime, a food and wine distributor told the justices.

The Fair Labor Standards Act’s text doesn’t require employers to put forth clear and convincing evidence, so the default—and easier to meet—preponderance-of-the-evidence standard should apply, according to the distributor’s Tuesday brief. The case is scheduled for high court argument Nov. 5.

Three sales representatives allege that EMD Sales Inc. owes them overtime pay. The company argued that FLSA overtime requirements don’t apply because ...