Campanelli

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Plaintiffs have moved for partial summary judgment that the outside sales and administrative exemptions do not apply to their job duties. Docket No. 315. Having considered the papers submitted by the parties and the arguments of counsel, the Court GRANTS plaintiffs’ motion for the reasons explained below.

I. BACKGROUND

In 2003, defendant The Hershey Company restructured its domestic sales force to adapt to a changing retail environment. As part of the restructuring, defendant created an entry-level Retail Sales Representative (RSR) position. Defendant classified this position as exempt from overtime under both federal and California law, and never paid hourly compensation to RSRs for any overtime they worked.

Under the new retail strategy, RSRs are part of teams that help defendant sell its products directly to retail outlets of various sizes, ranging from Walmarts to grocery chains to mom-and-pop stores. Each RSR services retail outlets in a designated sales territory. Last year, defendant employed about 500 RSRs nationwide with approximately 37 working in California.

The parties dispute the scope of the RSRs’…