Every employee in California wants to receive fair pay for the work they do. However, this is about more than just minimum wage and how high it should be. A determination about whether or not an employee is exempt is just as important.
Are you exempt?
So, what does it mean to be an exempt employee in California? Basically, this means that you are exempt from overtime pay rules and regulations. In most situations, we think of exempt employees as those who receive a set salary from their employer, or as those who are in managerial positions. However, that isn’t always the case.
In California, even if your job title is “manager” or “director” or some other lofty sounding label, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are exempt from overtime rules. In fact, it is more about what your job role is, how much discretion you might have in performing your job duties and whether or not you spend a significant portion of your time performing duties that would typically be attributed to exempt employees, among other potential factors. Yes, you may earn a salary instead of being paid at an hourly rate, but that is not the sole determining factor.
But, what is the harm if you are classified as an exempt employee when you really aren’t? Well, you could be misclassified, and that could mean that your employer may have committed serious wage and hour violations – depriving you of income you should have earned via overtime pay.
If you believe you may fall into this area, you may want to have your employment situation examined to see if you have been misclassified as an exempt employee.