NASCAR team compensation rules

gfterrell

Does anyone work with or have knowledge of the FLSA provisions that effect NASCAR teams. I am particularly interested in Race Mechanics, Fabricators, Painters, etc. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

Grady

regdunlop

not sure about fabricators or painters. see if their duties qualify under the learned professional or creative professional exemptions. for the learned professional exemption "The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge, defined as work which is predominantly intellectual in character and which includes work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment; the advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning; and the advanced knowledge must be customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction."

"To qualify for the creative professional employee exemption, all of the following tests must be met: • The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week; • The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of work requiring invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor."  http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/fairpay/fs17d_professional.pdf

it doesn't seem the mechanics on a nascar team would qualify under the Motor Carrier Exemption. see this fact sheet:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs19.pdf

TXHRGuy

I would be really surprised if race mechanics were deemed to be different from regular corner gas station mechanics for the purposes of the FLSA unless NASCAR teams choose to use engineers to do mechanic work.  Race fabricators and any other fabricators are probably the same for the purposes of the FLSA.  Body shop workers are usually on a per project or hourly basis and I suspect that NASCAR painters would be the same.

If one were to request a DOL letter of opinion on any of these, how would you explain that a NASCAR painter was somehow different from any other painter capable of doing custom quality work?  In fact, the NASCAR paint jobs are generally easier than top level custom paint jobs.  My guess is that they're all hourly unless they're using very high level people such as engineers to do mechanical and fabricating work as part of the design and improvement process.  I don't see much room for the painters, or pit crew to be other than hourly no matter what.