Rix vs. Lockheed Martin Corporation, Case No. 3:2009cv02063, an employment lawsuit, was filed on September 21, 2009 against Lockheed Martin in the Southern District of California by industrial security employees. The security employees allege that as a matter of company policy, Lockheed Martin unlawfully classified every Industrial Security Representative as exempt from overtime pay based on job title alone and failed to pay the Industrial Security Representatives overtime compensation as required by California overtime laws and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Under California overtime laws, employees are entitled to overtime compensation at one and a half times the regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of eight in a workday or 40 in a workweek. This California overtime rule does not apply when employees exercise a requisite level of independent discretion and judgment because when employees have the freedom to make decisions that impact the company in significant manners, the employees can usually be classified as exempt administrative employees.

The Industrial Security Representatives believe they are nonexempt from overtime pay and therefore have been cheated out of overtime wages because Lockheed Martin has established specific procedures and protocols in the form of the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual and project specific security classification guides which govern and control every aspect of the work performed by the Industrial Security Representative. These centralized rules mirror the realities of the workplace evidencing a uniformity of work among the Industrial Security Representative and negate any exercise of independent judgment and discretion, which would mean that the overtime exemptions do not apply to the Industrial Security Representatives.

For further information about this lawsuit contact an employment law lawyer in San Diego or an overtime wage lawyer in San Francisco.