On April 1, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Brown v. Nexus Business Solutions, LLC1 affirmed a district court's decision2 that business development managers who solicited and sold General Motors vehicles to corporate clients are not entitled to overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).3 Specifically, the appellate court held that the business development managers were "bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity"4 employees because they exercised discretion in the performance of their business development tasks. Accordingly, they fell within the FLSA's "administrative exemption" and were not entitled to overtime, notwithstanding they regularly spent over 40 hours per week convincing corporate clients to buy General Motors vehicles for their fleets.
In their capacity as business development managers, the employees built relationships and developed leads, which required creative thinking and tailoring to each corporate client. While they developed opportunities between clients and dealerships, the business development managers did not have the final authority to quote prices or close deals themselves.
...
