Misclassification of Exempt/Nonexempt Employees

One of the biggest problems in the area of wage and hour claims is misclassification of lower-level workers as "managers," and misclassification of employees as "contractors" in order to bypass wage and hour laws. Salaried employees whose job duties are generally routine may have been misclassified. Learn more about misclassification to see if this has happened to you.

You have a right to fair pay for the work you performed in good faith. Contact a California wage and hour lawyer to schedule a consultation.

California Wage and Hour Attorney Helping Clients Whose Jobs Have Been Misclassified

California Lawyer Helping Exempt and Nonexempt Employees

Employee misclassification is not uncommon. All too often companies promote an hourly employee to "assistant manager," but then require that employee to do the same job duties he or she did before.

One of the ways employers get employees to work additional hours without additional pay is by misclassifying them as "exempt" employees. As an exempt employee, you are not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). FLSA would cap your work hours at 40 hours a week, unless you were paid overtime for additional hours.

Does this sound like your situation?

• Are you a manager who does not manage any employees?
• Do you spend more than half your time doing routine tasks like stocking shelves, inputting data, running the cash register or taking on the work of those under you?
• Are you on call 24 hours a day?
• Are you working such long hours that your salary does not add up to double the minimum wage?

Just because you have been classified as exempt by your employer that does not mean you are exempt under the law. If you think your employer has misclassified your job, get a professional legal opinion.

Call (626) 689-2535 to speak with a California employee misclassification attorney, or contact a California wage and hour lawyer to schedule a consultation.

Common Types of Misclassification of Employees

Exempt employees are paid a salary, not an hourly wage. Exempt employees typically include managers, administrators, professionals, and creative staff, and may include sales staff who work on commission. The decision about whether a position is exempt or nonexempt depends not on the job title, but on the job duties. Exempt employees will typically:

• Manage the work of others
• Have considerable responsibility, independence, and authority over their own work
• Create, interpret and apply policies, make decisions within the organization, and exercise discretion in their work

Another group of employees who can be misclassified is independent contractors. In order for a worker to be an independent contractor, the worker needs to be in control of the manner of his or her work. The only thing the company can direct is the result of the work — what is produced and when.

If your employer tells you how to do your work or the hours you must work, then you are probably an employee and not truly an independent contractor. This would mean your employer must offer you the benefits offered to similar employees and must pay their share of employment taxes.

If you believe you have been misclassified as an exempt or contract employee, get the facts about how federal employment laws apply to you. Call (626) 689-2535 to speak with a California employee misclassification attorney, or contact a California wage and hour lawyer to schedule a consultation. Attorney Joel Bander is experienced and aggressive advocate for workers' rights in wage and overtime disputes and with employee misclassification cases. Attorney Bander represented managers and assistant managers, administrators and supervisors at motels, restaurants, dollar stores, gas stations, apartment complexes, and other types of companies.