Opinion ID: 212189
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Appellants' Status Under the FLSA

Text: 9 Pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 551.201, the BATF, the DEA, the IRS, the Customs Service, and the USSS independently determined, as the respective employing agencies, that Appellants were administrative employees exempt from the FLSA and its overtime provisions. In making this determination, the employing agencies evaluated whether Appellants' duties met the administrative exemption criteria set forth in 5 C.F.R. § 551.206. Significantly, Appellants were presumed to be non-exempt under the civil service regulations, thereby requiring the employing agencies to carry the burden of establishing that the Appellants met the criteria of § 551.206. Id. §§ 551.202(a), (c). 10 Dissatisfied with this exemption determination, Appellants filed an action at law under the Tucker Act, codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1491, against the Government in the United States Court of Federal Claims. Simultaneously, Appellants filed identical administrative claims before the GAO. In both proceedings, Appellants alleged that they were improperly ruled exempt from the FLSA and were entitled to damages flowing from this misclassification. In a decision dated October 30, 1992, the Court of Federal Claims concluded that some of the Appellants were exempt, while others were non-exempt. Adams v. United States, 27 Fed.Cl. 5, 28-29 (1992). 11 On September 23, 1998, we partially reversed the Court of Federal Claims' ruling in a non-precedential opinion and remanded the case for further proceedings as to those criminal investigators held exempted from the FLSA. Adams v. United States, No. 98-5011, 1998 WL 804552, 1998 U.S.App. LEXIS 23565 (Fed.Cir. Sept. 23, 1998) (Table). That case remains pending before the Court of Federal Claims. 12