Salaried Employee Misclassification in California

Salary, job title and exempt status answer different questions

Salary describes a way of paying an employee. Exempt status concerns whether a specific legal exemption applies. A manager, coordinator or administrator title is a starting point for asking questions, not the conclusion.

This guide concerns employees classified as exempt from overtime. A dispute about being labeled an independent contractor or receiving a 1099 belongs to the separate worker-classification guide. If the employer did not pay the promised salary, the unpaid-salary guide addresses that additional issue.

Which exemption does the employer rely on?

California's common executive, administrative and professional exemptions have distinct duties tests and compensation conditions. For these exemptions, the state generally examines whether more than half of work time is spent on exempt duties. Executive work, office administration and professional work are not interchangeable categories.

For example, compare an assistant manager's authority to make consequential decisions with time spent doing the same routine work as the team. Record both kinds of tasks. This fact pattern is a preparation exercise, not a decision that the employee is covered or exempt.

• 01Ask which exemption and wage order the employer says apply.
• 02Describe decisions you could make independently and decisions requiring approval.
• 03Estimate time by actual task, including routine work, and identify supporting records.
• 04Keep the written job description alongside examples of how the job actually operated.

Why compensation still needs a separate check

The common exemptions discussed above include a salary requirement tied to California's state minimum wage for full-time employment. Meeting a salary threshold does not replace the duties test. Some occupations and other exemptions follow different rules, so a single salary cutoff is not a universal answer.

Gather the salary agreement, effective dates, deductions and changes in pay. Ask the reviewer to use the rules applicable to each period at issue. A current threshold should not be applied automatically to all earlier work.

How can you reconstruct hours without a time clock?

Start a chronology using records you may lawfully keep: schedules, calendars, your own messages and pay records. Distinguish the hours you remember from the hours a document supports. Note breaks and changes in schedule rather than treating every time between two messages as working time.

Write down the employer's workday and workweek if known. Keep a record of tasks as well as hours, because the exemption question and a potential overtime calculation need different facts. Do not access systems without permission or collect unrelated customer or coworker files.

What should an individual assessment resolve?

Ask whether the claimed exemption fits, which additional records are needed, and what filing routes and timing require attention. An employment agreement, arbitration clause, agency filing or prior settlement can affect the next step. No worksheet decides those questions or extends a deadline.

Corcoran Smith Law quotes each accepted Employee Rights Assessment individually under a written scope. Confirm who will review the matter and what the work includes before proceeding. Continued negotiation or litigation is agreed separately.

Records to prepare

• 01Offer letter, salary changes, pay stubs and the employer's exempt-status explanation.
• 02Actual duties by task and approximate time, with examples of approval authority.
• 03Schedules and a workweek chronology separating documents from recollection.
• 04Relevant agreements, payroll questions and any filing or signing notices.

Questions about this topic

Sources and further reading

Use the linked authority for its stated subject. Firm biographies and service descriptions establish what the firm publishes; they are separate from statutes, agency guidance and State Bar licensing records.

• 01Labor Commissioner: overtime exemptionsCoverage and occupation-specific exceptions; consult the applicable wage order.
• 02Labor Commissioner: executive exemptionExecutive duties and salary conditions; title alone does not establish status.
• 03Labor Commissioner: administrative exemptionAdministrative duties, judgment and compensation conditions.
• 04Labor Commissioner: professional exemption and primarily engagedProfessional duties and the California work-time test.
• 05Corcoran Smith Law: employment servicesFirm-published service scope, separate from agency guidance.

Related guidance and next steps