How to know if you are illegally classified as an exempt employee:
Exempt workers are required to have certain duties. Titles have NO BEARING on the qualifying duties.
One of the easiset ways to know if you should be exempt or not is based on wages.
If you make less than $35,568 in a year, you cannot be an exempt employee. This wage standard applies to the exempt positions listed below. You must have both to be exempt.
The other test is job duties. It doesn't matter if you have the word “manager” in your title, your duties define the job.
Simple rule: Qualifying Wage + Specific Duties = Exempt. You must have BOTH.
Your paycheck has to be the same amount every time too. It cannot vary.
Exempt duties include:
Executive Exemption
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The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $684* per week;
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The employee’s primary duty must be managing the enterprise, or managing a customarily recognized department or subdivision of the enterprise;
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The employee must customarily and regularly direct the work of at least two or more other full-time employees or their equivalent; and
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The employee must have the authority to hire or fire other employees, or the employee’s suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring, firing, advancement, promotion or any other change of status of other employees must be given particular weight.
Administrative Exemptions
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The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $684* per week;
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The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers; and
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The employee’s primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.
Professional Exemption
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The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $684* per week;
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The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge, defined as work which is predominantly intellectual in character and which includes work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment;
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The advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning; and
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The advanced knowledge must be customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.
Computer Employee Exemption
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The employee must be compensated either on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $684* per week or, if compensated on an hourly basis, at a rate not less than $27.63 an hour;
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The employee must be employed as a computer systems analyst, computer programmer, software engineer or other similarly skilled worker in the computer field performing the duties described below;
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The employee’s primary duty must consist of:
- The application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software or system functional specifications;
- The design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to user or system design specifications;
- The design, documentation, testing, creation or modification of computer programs related to machine operating systems; or
- A combination of the aforementioned duties, the performance of which requires the same level of skills.
Outside Sales Exemption
- The employee’s primary duty must be making sales (as defined in the FLSA), or obtaining orders or contracts for services or for the use of facilities for which a consideration will be paid by the client or customer; and
- The employee must be customarily and regularly engaged away from the employer’s place or places of business.
Exemptions CANNOT be applied to “Blue Collar” workers which are defined as: workers who perform work involving repetitive operations with their hands, physical skill and energy. Such nonexempt “blue-collar” employees gain the skills and knowledge required for performance of their routine manual and physical work through apprenticeships and on-the-job training.
Exemptions CANNOT be applied to Police, Fire Fighters, Paramedics & Other First Responders as well.