SimonMed Technicians Win Some Overtime Claims, Advance Others

A group of SimonMed engineering technicians convinced an Arizona federal judge that they were improperly classified as exempt from overtime, should’ve received time-and-a-half for excess hours, and are entitled to double damages.

But a jury must determine how many hours they actually worked and whether the company acted willfully.

The employees clearly didn’t qualify as exempt learned professionals because while they had some job-specific training and experience, their work didn’t require any advanced academic degrees or prolonged specialized instruction, Judge John J. Tuchi of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona said Wednesday.

He granted summary judgment for ...