Wage and Hour Attorney

California’s wage and hour laws do not treat all workers the same. Generally, the strongest protections, like overtime pay, apply to non-exempt employees. Common non-exempt jobs may include retail associates, customer service representatives, food service workers, skilled trade workers, and clerical workers.

If you are classified as exempt or an independent contractor, then many of the typical wage and hour rules may not apply to you. However, misclassifying employees is a common violation, whether due to error or intentional efforts to reduce labor costs.

Exempt Employees

Exempt status does not depend only on your job title or that your employer pays you a salary. Generally, an exempt employee must:

• Earn a monthly salary equal to at least two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment
• Pass a strict duties test, spending more than 50 percent of their time performing exempt executive, administrative, or professional work

Employers sometimes refer to employees as exempt or pay them a salary to avoid overtime, even though their actual duties align with those of a non-exempt employee. This can be a form of misclassification.

Independent Contractors

Additionally, some businesses misclassify workers as independent contractors rather than employees. This is a serious violation of wage and hour laws. Under California’s ABC test, a worker is generally presumed to be an employee unless the hiring entity can prove that the worker:

• Is free from the control and direction of the business in performing the work
• Performs work outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business
• Is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed

If a company controls what you do, how you do it, and when you work, it likely must classify you as an employee. You may be able to seek back pay, other losses, and penalties.

Your worker classification affects your eligibility for certain wages, benefits, and other protections. If you are unsure whether you have been correctly classified, then a California wage and hour attorney can evaluate your situation. We can determine whether you have been misclassified and are owed additional wages and penalties.