WASHINGTON – In arguments April 16 in the U.S. Supreme Court, the pharmaceutical industry warned of “massive retroactive liability” if their sales representatives or “detailers” are not exempt from federal overtime pay requirements.
In Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham, 11-204, the justices took up the question of whether pharmaceutical sales reps, who promote but do not sell their company’s drugs to doctors, are “outside salesmen” exempt from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
