Sixth Circuit Says “Weekly” Means Weekly — But Not the Way You Might Think

Grab your favorite caffeinated beverage and scoot a little closer to the compliance campfire. On April 1, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit lit up the wage-and-hour world with Pickens v. Hamilton-Ryker IT Solutions, LLC. The court clarified what it really means to pay an employee “on a weekly basis” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)… and, spoiler alert, it’s not as simple as cutting a check every Friday.

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The 60-Second Backstory (Because We’re All Busy)

• Player #1: Lynwood Pickens, a pipe inspector billing 28–83 hours per week at $100/hr.

• Player #2: Hamilton-Ryker, a staffing agency that paid him a flat $800 “weekly salary” (the cost of just eight hours) plus $100 for every hour over eight.

• Issue: Company called it “salary,” skipped overtime, and invoked the Highly Compensated Employee (HCE) exemption. Pickens said, “Nice try—see you in court.”

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What the Sixth Circuit Actually Said

1. A salary isn’t “weekly” just because you hand it over once a week.
   The amount has to reflect a true week’s worth of work—not one measly day with the rest on a time-clock roller coaster.

2. Helix Energy still rules the day.
   Following SCOTUS’s Helix decision, the panel emphasized that a legitimate salary is predetermined and stable—unaffected by the ebb and flow of hours or days worked.

3. Reasonable-relationship test? Don’t ignore it.
   If you guarantee a partial salary (under 29 C.F.R. § 541.604(b)), it has to be “roughly equivalent” to what the employee usually earns. In Pickens’s world, $800 vs. a typical $5,200 paycheck was… well, not even in the same zip code.

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Why Your Payroll Spreadsheet Should Be Nervous

• Creative pay plans are under the microscope. Courts will pry apart any scheme that smells like overtime avoidance—even for six-figure earners.

• “Set-it-and-forget-it” guarantees won’t cut it. Salary must actually compensate for the general value of a week’s labor.

• HCE exemption still needs a bona fide salary basis. High pay alone doesn’t grant a free pass.

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Action Items for HR

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The Sixth Circuit basically said, “If you’re going to call it a salary, pay it like one.” That means predictable, week-or-longer, no-strings-attached compensation—not a “just-kidding” base that only buys Monday morning. Double-check your pay practices now, before an enterprising pipe inspector (or a curious DOL auditor) does it for you.

As always, this article is friendly HR banter, not legal advice. When in doubt, consult your local wage-and-hour counsel—preferably before your next payroll run.

Stay kind, stay curious, and keep those compliance fires burning!

Be Audit-Secure™!