Michael Taylor v. Autozone Incorporated

MEMORANDUM

Michael L. Taylor, Dilawar Khan, Vole-na Glover-Hale, and Manuel Montoya (collectively “Appellants”), on behalf of themselves and other persons similarly situated, appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Appellants’ former employer, AutoZoners, LLC, and its parent company, AutoZone, Inc. (collectively “AutoZone”, or “Appellees”), on Appellants’ claim that AutoZone’s store managers (“SMs”) were improperly classified as “bona fide executives”, thereby exempting them from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review a district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 635 F.3d 383, 389 (9th Cir.2011) aff'd, - U.S. -, 132 S.Ct. 2156 , 183 L.Ed.2d 153 (2012). Having done so, we reverse the ruling of the lower court, and remand for further determination.

To qualify under the “bona fide executive” exemption to the FLSA, an employee’s “primary duty” must be performing exempt activities — ie., activities related to the “management of the enterprise ... or of a customarily recognized department or subdivision thereof....” 29…