FLSA2008-10NA — Service coordinators and the learned professional exemption under section 13(a)(1)

U.S. Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration
Wage and Hour Division
Washington, D.C. 20210

FLSA2008-10NA

June 9, 2008

Dear Name*:

This is in response to your request for an opinion regarding whether service coordinators
employed by your organization qualify for the learned professional exemption under
section 13(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
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It is our opinion that service
coordinators do not qualify for the learned professional exemption under the FLSA.

Service coordinators assist program participants (participants) with gaining access to
medical, social, educational, and other community services. They interview, assess, and
identify participants’ strengths, needs, and desired outcomes before developing individual
service plans that identify proper services needed and authorized. Service coordinators
provide planning, coordination, linkage/referral, and follow-up/monitoring to facilitate
participants’ independence in the community. They also provide 24-hour case
management services, and advocate for program participants by intervening if their rights
are denied. They document all contact with participants in case notes and reports, and
assess the participants’ health and safety every month.

Your service coordinators must have an associate’s degree in a health or human services
field, or be a registered nurse, and have one year of relevant experience. However, the
ideal candidate has a bachelor’s degree and several years of experience. Service
coordinators must complete the Medicaid Service Coordination Core Training within
three months of employment, as well as annual training to enhance their skills.

Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA provides a minimum wage and overtime exemption for
“any employee employed in a bona fide . . . professional capacity,” as defined in 29
C.F.R. Part 541. An employee may qualify for exemption if the duties and salary tests
are met. The term “employee employed in a bona fide professional capacity” means “any
employee”:

(1) Compensated on a salary or fee basis at a rate of not less than $455 per week;
and

∗
Unless otherwise noted, any statutes, regulations, opinion letters, or other interpretive material cited in
this letter can be found at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

(2) Whose primary duty is the performance of work . . . [r]equiring knowledge of
an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a
prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.

29 C.F.R. § 541.300(a).

This primary duty test for the learned professional exemption includes:

(1) The employee must perform work requiring advanced knowledge;

(2) The advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning; and

(3) The advanced knowledge must be customarily acquired by a prolonged
course of specialized intellectual instruction.

29 C.F.R. § 541.301(a).

“The phrase ‘customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual
instruction’ restricts the exemption to professions where specialized academic training is
a standard prerequisite for entrance into the profession. The best prima facie evidence
that an employee meets this requirement is possession of the appropriate academic
degree.” 29 C.F.R. § 541.301(d). On the other hand,

the learned professional exemption is not available for occupations that
customarily may be performed with only the general knowledge acquired by an
academic degree in any field, with knowledge acquired through an
apprenticeship, or with training in the performance of routine mental, manual,
mechanical or physical processes. The learned professional exemption also does
not apply to occupations in which most employees have acquired their skill by
experience rather than by advanced specialized intellectual instruction.

Id.

Occupations requiring only a bachelor’s degree in any field, an associate’s degree, or
completion of a short course of specialized training as a standard prerequisite for entrance
into a particular field, do not qualify for the learned professional exemption. See 69 Fed.
Reg. 22,122, 22,150 (Apr. 23, 2004); see also Wage and Hour Opinion Letter
FLSA2007-5 (Feb. 5, 2007); Wage and Hour Opinion Letter FLSA2006-26 (July 24,
2006).

Because the academic requirements for service coordinators may be met with an
associate’s degree, the position lacks the requirement of “knowledge of an advanced type
. . . customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.”
29 C.F.R. § 541.300(a)(2); see Wage and Hour Opinion Letter FLSA2006-26 (July 24,
2006). Therefore, it is our opinion that service coordinators do not qualify for the learned
professional exemption.

This opinion is based exclusively on the facts and circumstances described in your
request and is given based on your representation, express or implied, that you have
provided a full and fair description of all the facts and circumstances that would be
pertinent to our consideration of the question presented. Existence of any other factual or
historical background not contained in your letter might require a conclusion different
from the one expressed herein. You have represented that this opinion is not sought by a
party to pending private litigation concerning the issues addressed herein. You have also
represented that this opinion is not sought in connection with an investigation or litigation
between a client or firm and the Wage and Hour Division or the Department of Labor.

We trust that this letter is responsive to your inquiry.

Sincerely,

Monty Navarro
Fair Labor Standards Team
Office of Enforcement Policy

* Note: The actual name(s) was removed to preserve privacy in accordance with 5
U.S.C. § 552(b)(7).