Baum v. Astrazeneca LP

372 F. App'x 246
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedMarch 24, 2010
DocketNo. 09-2150
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 372 F. App'x 246 (Baum v. Astrazeneca LP) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baum v. Astrazeneca LP, 372 F. App'x 246 (3d Cir. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

Kristin Baum appeals the District Court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of AstraZeneca, her former employer. Baum sought relief under the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act (“PMWA”), 43 P.S. § 333.101 et seq., based on AstraZ-eneca’s purported failure to pay her for overtime work. The District Court concluded that Baum fell under the outside salesperson exemption of the PMWA, id. § 333.105(a)(5), and entered summary [247]*247judgment in favor of AstraZeneca.1 We will affirm on different grounds.

I.

Facts

Baum worked as a Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist (“PSS”) for AstraZeneca from May 1, 2003, to November 1, 2006.2 As a PSS, Baum promoted AstraZeneca pharmaceuticals directly to physicians. She regularly visited approximately 150 physicians in her assigned territory, answering questions about AstraZeneca products, building relationships with physicians and their staffs, and trying to get physicians to commit to prescribing AstraZeneca products. Because company policy, federal regulations, and federal laws controlled the scope and nature of Baum’s interactions with physicians, AstraZeneca trained her on how to conduct a physician visit. Some of Baum’s interactions with physicians were “canned speeches” she learned through AstraZeneca’s in-house training.

To gain access to physicians, Baum would, among other things, schedule “access meals” where she would provide breakfast, lunch, or dinner to a physician, the physician’s staff, or both. These meals provided Baum opportunities to promote AstraZeneca products to physicians and their staffs. Baum also set up “prep” programs where physicians, some of whom were selected by her, addressed other physicians on medical topics. In the same vein, Baum arranged peer-to-peer meetings where physicians selected by AstraZ-eneca would meet with other physicians.

Baum normally worked sixty to seventy hours per week. She called on eight or nine physicians a day, amounting to ten to twelve hours a day in the field. On top of her field work, Baum spent approximately an hour each day checking e-mails, filling out expense reports, and worldng on spreadsheets. Baum’s base salary was $63,000.

Procedural History

Baum filed suit against AstraZeneca on March 27, 2007, in the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. On April 20, 2007, AstraZeneca removed the case to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. AstraZeneca later moved for summary judgment, arguing that Baum fell under the outside salesperson and administrative employee exemptions of the PMWA. The District Court concluded that Baum fell under the former exemption and granted AstraZeneca’s motion for summary judgment on March 31, 2009. Baum filed this timely appeal.

II.

We exercise “plenary review over the District Court’s grant of summary juclgment[.]” Shuman ex rel. Shertzer v. Penn Manor Sch. Dist., 422 F.3d 141, 146 (3d Cir.2005) (quoting Abramson v. William Paterson Coll, of N.J., 260 F.3d 265, 276 (3d Cir.2001)). A court should grant summary judgment “if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(2). In applying that standard, “a court must view the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and draw all inferences in that party’s favor.” Shuman, 422 F.3d [248]*248at 146 (quoting Armbruster v. Unisys Corp., 32 F.3d 768, 777 (3d Cir.1994)). “We may affirm the District Court on any grounds supported by the record.” Nicini v. Morra, 212 F.3d 798, 805 (3d Cir.2000) (en banc).

III.

Under the PMWA’s administrative employee exemption, anyone employed in a “bona fide ... administrative ... capacity” is exempt from the PMWA’s overtime protections. 43 P.S. § 333.105(a)(5). The exemption applies to employees whose (1) salaried compensation is at least “$250 per week, exclusive of board, lodging or other facilities,” 34 Pa.Code § 231.83(5), (2) “primary duty consists of the performance of office or nonmanual work directly related to management policies or general operation of his employer or the customers of the employer,” id. § 231.83(1), and (3) primary duty “requir[es] the exercise of discretion and independent judgment,” id. § 231.83(5).3 “In general, the exercise of discretion and independent judgment involves the comparison and the evaluation of possible courses of conduct, and acting or making a decision after the various possibilities have been considered.” 29 C.F.R. § 541.202(a) (explaining “discretion and independent judgment” for the purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act).4 Baum’s employment at AstraZeneca satisfied these requirements.5

The salary requirement of $250 per week was indisputably satisfied. Baum’s base salary was $63,000, which amounts to approximately $1,211 per week. The second requirement, performance of nonman-ual work directly related to AstraZeneca’s general operation, see 34 Pa. Code § 231.83(1), was satisfied by Baum’s marketing and advertising of AstraZeneca’s products, see 29 C.F.R. § 541.201(b) (‘Work directly related to ... general business operations includes ... work in ... advertising [and] marketing^]”). See Reich v. John Alden Life Ins. Co., 126 F.3d 1, 12 (1st Cir.1997) (applying FLSA administrative employee exemption to insurance marketing representatives); see also Reich v. Avoca Motel Corp., 82 F.3d 238, 240 n. 5 (8th Cir.1996) (stating that “engaging in ‘public relations’ work to gain repeat customers” was an administrative task under the FLSA). Baum visited physicians and organized events, such as access meals, prep programs, and peer-to-peer meetings.6 These activities “dissemi-nat[ed] information to the marketplace [and increased] understanding [of] customers and competitors” and thus were “directly related to [AstraZeneca’s general] [249]*249operations[.]” John Alden Life Ins. Co., 126 F.3d at 12.

The third requirement was also satisfied. Baum’s “work required] the exercise of discretion and independent judgment.” 84 Pa.Code § 231.83(5). Baum had significant discretion in how she would approach physicians, whether it be through access meals, peer-to-peer meetings, or other means. In other words, she had to “compar[e] and ... evaluate] ... possible courses of conduct, and ... mak[e] a decision after the various possibilities ha[d] been considered.” 29 C.F.R.

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Bluebook (online)
372 F. App'x 246, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baum-v-astrazeneca-lp-ca3-2010.