You deserve to be paid fairly for a hard day’s work. While the law also seeks to protect your right to fair wages, all too often employers try to skirt the law at their employees’ expense. There are several ways they do this, but one of the most common is through misclassification of workers.
Pursuant to law, workers must be classified as exempt or non-exempt from overtime statutes. But the classification of these employees shouldn’t be random and at the will of the employer. Instead, the law clearly sets forth criteria that must be met for an employee to be classified as exempt. Let’s take a closer look at how those determinations are made and how you can spot employer errors that could be indicative that you’ve been misclassified.
What renders an employee exempt from overtime payment?
Federal law lays out guidelines for when an employee can be deemed exempt from overtime laws. This includes:
- The employee receives a salary rather than an hourly rate: Those who are in salaried positions are typically exempt from overtime pay requirements. Therefore, one way that employers try to skimp on overtime payments is by simply giving an employee a salary, even if they’re performing the same job duties they were before.
- The amount of money that the salary makes on a yearly basis: For an employee to be considered exempt, they must make a little over $43,000 a year in salary. A lot of employers will bump their employees up to that minimum simply to avoid overtime pay, but others think that they can avoid overtime pay by converting their employee’s position to one that is salary-based while falling short of that minimum requirement to render them exempt. You need to know what your situation is so that you can protect your interests.
- The employee’s job duties: Generally, an employee has to hold professional duties that require a higher level of expertise in order to be deemed an exempt employee. Those who hold professional degrees, those who supervise other employees and those who manage part of a business are generally characterized as holding an exempt position. However, there are several other types of jobs that could put one in exempt status. This includes some administrative positions, those whose positions require a college degree and even some of those who work in the creative arts.
Signs that you’ve been misclassified as an exempt employee
There are many indicators that you may have been misclassified as an exempt employee. This includes the following:
- You hold the same or similar job duties as those who are overtime eligible.
- Your employer has asked you to change how you report your job title without any change in pay or your job duties.
- You lack discretion in your work.
- Your employer has not assigned you any managerial duties.
- Your salary is below the threshold for exempt employee status.
- The determination to render you in exempt status was solely based on a change in your title.
- Your employer fails to take your job duties into consideration when deeming you an exempt employee.
What should you do if you suspect that you’ve been misclassified?
If you think that you’ve been misclassified, then you should consider taking legal action to protect your rights. After all, in many instances, misclassification is an intentional attempt on your employer’s part to save money while taking advantage of you. You shouldn’t sit back and let that happen. So, if you’re ready to hold your employer accountable and recover the compensation you deserve, then now is the time to start gathering evidence, researching the law and developing the persuasive legal arguments you need on your side.