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Q.If my job title suggests I am exempt from overtime, but my job duties are clerical do I qualify for overtime?
A.Yes. Many California employers have been found to have either purposely or inadvertently misclassify an employee as exempt to avoid paying the employee overtime wages. Employees classified as exempt generally must fall under one of seven categories: executive, administrative, professional, computer, outside sales representative, physician and surgeons, and highly compensated while collar workers earning more than $100,000 per year.
Employees frequently misclassified as exempt from overtime include:
- Managers, supervisors, and office staff that do not spend at least 50% of their time performing management duties OR managing / supervising at least 2 or more other employees; OR who do not earn at lest twice the minimum wage ($640 per week);
- Employee who does not either regularly and directly assist a business owner, executive or administrative employee, or who do not operate under only general supervision;
- Some hourly-paid, highly skilled computer software employees who do not earn at least $36 per hour;
- Commissioned employees whose commissions do not represent more than half their compensation or whose earnings do not exceed 1.5 times the minimum wage;
- Employees misclassified as Independent contractors;
- Loan Consultants, Inside Sales Representatives, and Pharmacists; and
- An properly classified exempt employee whose employer regularly docks his pay if he misses work. A properly classified employee may loose exempt status if the employer regularly docks his pay if he misses work.
If you have been misclassified as an exempt employee, you should contact an attorney.
If you were employed in California and would like assistance with filing a California wage and overtime claim with either the California Labor Commissioner or a California Small Claims Court, call 818-849-5206 or email Melissa C. Marsh, Esq. to speak with a licensed California attorney. Mention this article and receive a 30-minute consultation for just $99.
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