Salaried Workers: Avoid Employee Misclassification

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The Basics of Employee Misclassification

Many salaried workers in California are not getting paid all the wages they deserve. This happens when they are misclassified as “exempt employees” and are paid a salary instead of hourly pay. Employee misclassification means that salaried employees do not receive overtime wages, rest breaks, and meal breaks that hourly workers receive.

California law requires that employees’ jobs meet specific criteria before being classified as an exempt salaried position. Unfortunately, employers can benefit from ignoring these criteria since they can make their employees work long hours without paying them overtime wages or providing meal and rest breaks even when the law demands it.

If you are wrongly classified as a salaried worker, you may be owed compensation for unpaid overtime, rest and meal breaks never provided, statutory penalties, interest, and more.

Requirements to be Classified As Salaried Exempt in California

Generally, to be classified as exempt, an employee must:

  • Earn a minimum annual salary of $54,080 at a workplace of 26 or more employees, or $49,920 at a workplace with 25 or fewer employees;
  • Regularly exercise discretion and independent judgment in performing their job duties;
  • Be primarily engaged in executive, administrative, or professional duties (generally more than 50% of their time worked) or other job position duties classified as exempt as noted in the California wage orders.

The minimum salary requirement is particularly important to take note of. With the California minimum wage increasing each year, employers likely forget to increase worker salaries along with it. The minimum salary will rise again on January 1, 2021.

Employees who do not meet the above criteria must be paid hourly and receive overtime pay and meal and rest breaks. In California, overtime must be paid when you work more than eight hours in a day or more than forty hours per week.

Salaried Workers – Call PARRIS Lawyers

California laws regarding the classification of employee jobs are complex. If you have any questions regarding whether you should be entitled to overtime pay and meal and rest breaks, call PARRIS employment lawyers to start your free case consultation at (661) 485-2072.

PARRIS Results For Salaried Misclassified Employees

You can view more PARRIS Law Firm case results here.

Tell us how we can help.

If you need immediate assistance, please call our office at (661) 942-7869 and ask to speak with someone in our Intake Department available 24/7.

Alex Wheeler - PARRIS Law Firm Attorney Speaking with a Client - Legal Consultation

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