Sanofi Sales Rep Sues For Overtime Pay
2 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // December 17th, 2009 // 7:46 am
Yet another sales rep has joined the battle about overtime pay. The latest involves a Sanofi-Aventis rep in Minnesota, Dede Evavold, who alleges in a putative class action lawsuit (see here) that she and others were denied overtime pay in violation of federal law. Typically, sales reps argue they are not exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and, therefore, should be paid overtime.
The FLSA’s overtime compensation requirement doesn’t apply to employees who work as outside salespeople, but the law does require employers to pay overtime for hours worked beyond 40 hours a week, unless a FLSA exemption applies. What are those exemptions? If an employee’s primary duty is to obtain orders or contracts (as defined by the statute) and regularly does so away from the employer’s place of business.
Drugmakers argue their sales reps are, indeed, outside salespeople who close sales because the primary customer is the physician. But recently, the US Department of Labor added an unexpected twist tot he debate by filing an amicus brief with a federal appeals court contending that a lower court was wrong to toss their lawsuit (see here). Some courts, meanwhile, remain unconvinced. Last month, a federal judge ruled in favor of Glaxo (see here).
pharmavet
Most reps don’t work an eight hour day, unless you includes visits to health clubs, Starbucks and the restaurants they visit to pick up grub for the office staff. I’m not sure they even deserve fringe benefits.
tonyboy
pharma sales isn’t sales though. it’s promotion. no sale is “closed”, no contract is signed, no delivery is made. the actual customer is either an insurance company (a payer) or a consumer that pays $$ for their prescription. the dr doesn’t stock any product other than free samples which are also just a promo expense.
when does a pharma rep ever work on an RFP (request for proposal) or close a sale ? does a pharma rep go to a performance review to discuss how much revenue they generated ? nope, because they are not involved in direct sales, nor indirect sales either. the only reps that MIGHT be able to count the $ they generate MIGHT be vaccine reps or other reps in a buy/bill environment. Truth is, pharma reps are only promoters (similar to tv commercials and billboards), not sales people, although the skills are similar. Sure a dr might say “i’ll use that drug x” but if pharma was TRULY a sales job, then the rep would take out a contract, or or have a bill of sale in hand as proof of the sale. None of that transpires. It ain’t sales.
The dr is the object of the promotional efforts, but the dr isn’t purchasing a single thing from a pharma rep. the pharma rep dispenses information to the dr…nothing more…and sometimes less. In a sense, a pharma rep is like a lobbyist, pushing and promoting his own agenda.
The dr , while concerned abuot the cost of drugs in general, has a ZERO stake in the actual cost of the prescription (other than managed care withholds. dr is not the customer. Dr is the intermediary that recommends the use of a product to a patient, the insurance company or patient is the purchaser of the product.
Okay , it’s called pharma sales, but it’s promotion plain and simple. It’s not sales.