The Second Circuit Finds Entry-Level Accountants To Be Exempt Learned Professionals Under the FLSA

Earlier today, in Pippins v. KPMG, the Second Circuit held that entry-level accountants are professionals exempt from overtime under the FLSA.  While the Court’s finding is of great significance to employers within the accounting industry, the decision offers broad guidance as the meaning of the professional exemption generally, guidance which is applicable to employers in all industries.

Briefly, the FLSA’s professional exemption require that an employee’s main or most important duty be the performance of “work requiring an advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.”  Implementing regulations impose a three prong test to determine whether an employee’s primary duty qualifies for the exemption:  1) the work must be predominantly intellectual in character, requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment; 2) the work must be in a field of science or learning (such as accounting), and 3) be of a type where specialized academic training is a standard prerequisite for entrance into the profession.  Because in Pippins there was no dispute that plaintiffs were accountants working a field of science or learning, the Court’s analysis focused on the other two elements of the test.

To read this blog post click here