Furniture retailer not truckers exempt from overtime law, NJ court says

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New Jersey’s overtime law says that employers must pay employees 1 1/2 times their regular hourly rate for every hour worked that is more than 40 hours in a week.  But there is a law that exempts trucking industry employers from the requirement to pay that overtime rate.  Furniture retailer Raymour & Flanigan said that it was eligible for the trucking exemption after an employee complained that Raymour was not paying overtime.  In court, the employer has the burden of proving that it is entitled to claim an exemption to New Jersey’s overtime law.

Raymour & Flanigan argued to the Appellate Division that it should not have to pay the employees in its customer service and distribution centers the statutory overtime rate because each of those centers received furniture for the purpose of delivery to customers, making each of the centers a trucking “establishment” under the law exempting trucking businesses from overtime requirements.

The Appellate Division court disagreed with Raymour, stating that because its primary business is furniture retail and not trucking, the exemption for trucking establishments does not apply.  As a result, Raymour is required to pay all of its employees, including those in its customer service and distribution centers, the statutory overtime rate.

In the Matter of Raymour and Flanigan Furniture, et al., Docket No. A-4622-07T1, (Sup Ct NJ, App Div 2009).