Opinion ID: 3161323
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Burger King Decision

Text: In Burger King, the district court had found after a bench trial that the restaurant chain's assistant managers did not have management as their primary duty and, hence, were entitled to overtime under the FLSA. See 672 F.2d at 224. Among other tasks, the Burger King assistant managers scheduled employees, oversaw product quality, spoke with customers, trained employees, and perform[ed] various recordkeeping, inventory, and cash - 10 - reconciliation duties. Id. at 223. However, the assistant managers also spent a substantial portion of their time -- more than 40 percent of their weekly work hours, id. at 224 -- performing many of the same tasks as hourly employees, such as taking orders, preparing food, and 'expediting' orders. Id. at 223. The district court found that, in the absence of the manager, the assistant manager on duty was 'de facto in charge of the store,' id. at 225, but the court nonetheless concluded that assistant managers did not work primarily as managers as required for the FLSA overtime exemption. In reversing, we stated that, [i]n light of the district court's finding here that the assistant managers were 'in charge' of the restaurant during their shifts, its conclusion that they do not have management as their primary duty cannot stand. Id. at 227. We noted that employees may concurrently perform exempt and nonexempt tasks, and we observed that the regulation makes it quite clear that an employee can manage while performing other work, and that this other work does not negate the conclusion that his primary duty is management. Id. at 226. We found applicable the proposition that the person 'in charge' of a store has management as his primary duty, even though he spends the majority of his time on non-exempt work and makes few significant decisions. Id. at 227. - 11 - Because the issue of primary duty was the only disputed factor for certain of the Burger King assistant managers, our rejection of the district court's finding on that issue meant that those managers fell within the FLSA's bona fide executive exemption. Id. at 224.7 Accordingly, we vacated the district court's judgment insofar as it ordered Burger King to pay back overtime wages to the group of assistant managers earning at least $250 per week. Id. at 229.8