Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation Must Pay Overtime to Sales Rep: Judge

In yet another victory for sales reps, a federal judge ruled that a Boehringer-Ingelheim rep is not exempt from overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and should be paid overtime. The ruling, which came in the form of a summary judgment and is now headed to trial to determine damages, is the latest in a highly contentious decision that has divided courts across the country. For the past few years, a growing number of sales reps have argued they were unfairly denied overtime and nearly every drugmaker has been taken to court (look here and here). The US Department of Labor, however, has sided with the reps, arguing that many of the biggest drugmakers have misinterpreted the Fair Labor Standards Act.