January 22, 2025
Judge Rules Ipse Dixit Won’t Do – Employee Must Document, Too!
HR professionals are frequently reminding managers to document, document, document. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (covering IL, IN, WI ) recently ruled that an employee bringing a wage claim has a duty to do the same.
After an employee was fired, she sued alleging she was improperly classified as exempt and not paid for overtime. Her job description listed her ability to work remotely and established her hours of work from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. But both parties agreed (1) she was permitted the flexibility to set her own schedule; and (2) since she was classified as exempt, the timekeeping system would not let her enter hours worked outside of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. She claimed she regularly worked ten hours per day. Since the employer had no records to refute her claim, the employee needed to provide “enough evidence to place her ‘version of events” beyond the level of mere ‘speculation or conjecture.’”
So, did she meet her burden of proof? The court ruled, “No.” Without getting into the weeds of the two different levels or burdens of proof the court analyzed at different stages of her claim, it found her evidence “too vague and conclusory.” She must produce “more than ipse dixit.” She provided no witness to attest to her working overtime. She had no documentary evidence. The court found her explanation of what she did during the alleged work time was “vague.” In short, the court noted, “she relies on her own vague, self-serving testimony
to prove the extent of her damages.”
Lessons learned? Although the employer won, this entire case might have been avoided if the employer had:
- ensured the employee was properly classified as exempt v. non-exempt;
- used a payroll system that enabled exempt employees to record time worked outside of their regularly scheduled hours;
- a policy that required all employees, exempt or non-exempt, to record all time worked (and enforced it); and/or
- updated the job description to reflect the flexible schedule.
Tip. Compare your policies and practices for timekeeping procedures to this case. Are there any proactive changes you might want to make? Talk to your company’s employment counsel for their guidance.
