Why Employment Status Matters

WHY EMPLOYMENT STATUS MATTERS DEFINING EMPLOYMENT STATUS Need-to-knows Job title does not determine whether an employee is exempt or non-exempt • Status is based on the type of work the employee regularly performs • Exempt employees usually use independent judgment and discretion • Non-exempt employees might go to exempt employees to determine course of action Non-exempt workers • Receive pay for all hours worked during a week, including overtime • Protected under the Wage and Hour provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and California's IWC Wage Orders and Labor Code - Overtime pay is for anything over 8 hours/day, 40 hours/week, or any hour on a 7th consecutive day in a workweek Exempt workers • Receive the same amount of pay regardless of how many hours are worked • Executive, administrative, and professional jobs are often exempt • Minimum monthly salary in California must be at least twice the minimum wage A salary does not automatically make an employee exempt A LOOK AT MISCLASSIFICATION At a glance • You may feel you are misclassified based on your actual job duties • Job title and description do not always help to determine exempt status Classification violations • Some employers may misclassify employees to avoid paying overtime • Evaluate whether your work is similar to that of a non-exempt employee Taking action • You can argue that you are entitled to the hourly benefits of non-exempt workers • Employers are not allowed to retaliate against you for that request Provided by: ADVOCACY CENTER FOR EMPLOYMENT LAW STEVEN P. COHN, ATTORNEY www.employmentadvocacy.com Sources: http://www.employmentadvocacy.com/areas-of-practice/salaried-exempt-employment-status.aspx http://www.calchamber.com/california-employment-law/Pages/exempt-nonexempt-employees.aspx http://smallbusiness.chron.com/being-nonexempt-mean-employment-10732.html http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/burtongoldfield/201 1/04/08/employee- misclassifications-continued-exempt-vs-non-exempt/