E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera

E.M.D. Sales had to prove that its delivery route salespeople qualified for the outside sales exemption by showing, more likely than not, that the workers met all elements of that exemption—a significantly lighter burden than the Fourth Circuit's clear-and-convincing standard. Under the preponderance test, E.M.D. Sales needed only to establish that it was more probable than not that the salespeople's duties, hours, and compensation structure fell within the statutory exemption, rather than having to dispel every reasonable doubt. This shift in burden was outcome-determinative: by eliminating the heightened standard, the Court gave employers like E.M.D. Sales a more achievable path to defending overtime-exempt classifications for salespeople who work extended hours but claim exemption status. The ruling thus clarified that FLSA exemption disputes turn on the ordinary civil standard of proof, not on an artificially demanding evidentiary threshold.