Employment Law

A commonly held myth is, “I am not entitled to overtime pay because I am a ‘manager’.”  However, because you are a “manager,” does not automatically mean you are exempt from overtime and minimum wage compensation.

Under California law, exemptions from statutory mandatory minimum wage and overtime provisions are narrowly construed.  One of the more common categories of exemptions apply to those persons employed in the “administrative, executive, or professional” capacity.  This is the category many employers use to classify “managers” as exempt from the overtime and minimum wage provisions.  The fact that you are a manager is not the test.  Rather, to be exempt under this category, an employee must: (1) be “primarily engaged in duties that meet the test of the exemption; (2) “customarily and regularly exercise discretion and independent judgment in performing those duties; and (3) earn “a monthly salary equivalent to no less than two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment.”

Generally, to qualify for the exemption, the employee’s duties must be directly related to management policies or general business operations of the employer or its customers.   An employee is “primarily engaged” in exempt duties only if more than one half of the employee’s work is devoted to such duties.   With respect to “discretion and independent judgment,” an employee who merely applies his or her skills and knowledge in following prescribed procedures is not exercising “discretion” and “judgment” of the independent sort associated with administrative work.

In short, simply because you have the title of a “manager,” does not mean you are not entitled to certain wage and hour protections, such as overtime and minimum wage compensation.

To schedule your free initial consultation, contact us online or call (619) 342-8000 today!

Last April, the California Supreme Court resolved long-standing confusion regarding the definition of the word “provide” in Labor Code §512, which requires employers to provide meal breaks to employees who work for more than five hours. In the landmark Brinker decision, the Court clarified that an employer must relieve its employees of all duties during a meal period. The decision was haled as a victory for employers because the Court did not require employers to police meal breaks, but was also looked at as a boon to employees, because employers must go beyond merely maintaining a policy permitting meal breaks.

Since Brinker, several California appellate court cases have interpreted the decision. Recently, however, the Supreme Court depublished three of these decisions. The Court’s depublication of the decisions indicates that the Court wants lower courts to use Brinker as precedent, rather than these appellate court decisions. The Court’s depublication strongly signals that these decisions improperly used an outdated definition of the word “provide,” which fails to take into account that employers must now take affirmative steps to relieve employees of all duties during breaks.

To schedule your free initial consultation, contact us online or call (619) 342-8000 today!