Employee misclassified exempt happens more than it should. A common employee misclassification is when an employer gives an employee a job title that is inflated, but the employee’s job tasks do not fall under FLSA as exempt. This is illegal and unethical.
How Do I Know If I Am Misclassified Exempt?
The best way to know if an employee is misclassified exempt is by knowing what FLSA requirements exempt employees from overtime.
An employer might manipulate the FLSA guidelines by giving an employee a salaried position that actually falls under the coverage of FLSA. Although a good rule of thumb is that a salaried position is exempt from FLSA coverage, occasionally a salaried position can be covered by FLSA if the job position does not include particular work duties.
The deadlines for filing a lawsuit about incorrect overtime compensation are short. Therefore, it is important that if you suspect that you’ve been misclassified by your employer that you call us.
Who Are FLSA Exempt Employees?
FLSA clearly maps out which employees are exempt and which are not. Learn more about the new overtime laws by reading Pennsylvania’s New Overtime Laws & Rules. And yet, employers sometimes struggle to categorize their employees correctly. Naturally, FLSA offers four specific categories of exempt employees: executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales.
To be exempt from FLSA coverage, an employee must meet each of these criteria. Otherwise, you may not be exempt.
Executive:
earn more than $913/week or $47,476/year
manage the business
direct other employees and work assignments
authority to hire or fire
Administrative:
receive more than $913/week or $47,476/year
perform non-manual work related to management or business operations
operate judgment and discretion according to significant matters
job examples include marketing personnel, insurance agent, office manager.
Professional:
earn more than $913/week or $47,476/year
primary duties include work based on intellectual performance
advanced knowledge in specific area of study from an educational institution.
job examples include doctor, dentist, professor, accountant.
Outside Sales:
making sales outside of your employer’s office
no salary qualifications for this exemption
But in reality, remember that FLSA focuses on the job duties rather than the job title. A Pennsylvania overtime compensation lawyer concentrates on the day-to-day tasks of a job instead of the fancy job title distraction.
Some job titles don’t carry the FLSA-exempt responsibilities. For example, managers who don’t manage people might be FLSA eligible. Also, an outside sales associate who spends most of his or her time at headquarters should probably be receiving overtime.
Basically, FLSA means to protect a worker’s time and resources by reimbursing him and her equally. However, FLSA can be difficult to decipher when an employee’s situation is not by the book or doesn’t match any given examples. At this point, call a lawyer who will be able to advice you according to the law.
If you think you may have been misclassified exempt from FLSA, contact a lawyer who will know how to navigate the FLSA and your rights under the law.
Don’t hesitate, talk to an attorney: (412) 626-5626 or lawyer@lawkm.com
