Exempt Employees from Overtime

Contrary to what most employers believe, paying an employee his salary does not automatically make them exempt - in fact, this is only one of the requirements of the law for exempt status and there are additional requirements to it.

An employee is non-exempt if both the salary and the duties tests are not met. For instance, under California law, an employee must be primarily engaged in exempt duties, which include exercise of “independent discretion and judgment”, to be able to meet the duties test.

However, under federal test, this requirement is less strict. Thus, an employee may be exempt under federal law, but not the state law.

Both federal and state laws make distinction between exempt and non-exempt employees. Generally, exempt employees are not subject to a number of wage and hour laws. Under California laws, exempt employees are not covered by laws pertaining to overtime and rest and meal periods, among others.

The state law provides three exemptions - executive, administrative and professional employees – which has separate detailed requirements.

For an employer, misclassifying an employee as exempt or failing to follow wage and hour rules for non-exempt employees could be disastrous. An employer must pay a wage of one additional hour of pay for each rest or meal period missed, which would be costly.

To avert situations like this, an employer must necessarily consult with an employment lawyer who can advise him on the proper application of overtime and wage laws.

Employment Attorney Services can help you deal with wage and overtime issues. Consult with our expert employment attorneys to help you deal with other employment issues.