With so many lawsuits involving situations where employers have misclassified nonexempt employees as exempt employees, it’s vital that employers understand the differences and the eligibility for each. This article looks at the classifications of exempt and nonexempt employees according to California laws.

California Exempt and Nonexempt Employee Classification

Salary 

To be exempt, an employee must be earning more than twice the minimum wage and must be in full-time employment. Earning is not an automatic qualification for exemption.

Exempt employees receive full weekly pay for all the weeks they worked. Therefore, the number of deductions that can be made on an exempt employee’s salary are few.

Job Title

An employee’s job title is not a determining factor. A big job title employee may still be nonexempt, as long as the job duties do not conform to the requirements to be exempt.

Duties Test

Employees under California laws need work half of the job time on exempt duties for them to become exempt employees.

A majority of employees classified as being exempt regularly make independent decisions at their places of work. Their jobs involve evaluating situations and deciding on the course of action independently.

Determination by California’s Labor Commissioner

A labor commissioner will examine the duties performed by an employee to determine if they’re to be categorized as exempt or nonexempt.

Deductions From The Pay of Exempt Employees

Employers should not deduct the pay of exempt employees for the day’s work is unavailable, so long as the employees are willing and in a position to perform work. In such cases, California laws on exempt employees require that they be paid the full weeks’ pay, even if they worked for one day.

California vs Federal laws on Exemptions

These are slight differences in the way federal and state laws apply to employee exemptions for specific job descriptions. The following are exemptions for California job duties.

Executives

Managers are still required to meet the requirements to be exempt. Otherwise, they would remain to be nonexempt.

Professional Employees

They still need to meet specific requirements for professional exemption.

Employees in Administrative Positions

Not every senior employee is exempt unless their duties match those performed by exempt employees according to California laws.

Computer Professionals

In the year 2000, state law was amended to be in line with federal law regarding computer professionals, exempting them from overtime.

Artists

Not many artists qualify to be exempt under California laws due to the nature of their work; most are self-employed, with full control of the hours they work.

Salespeople

They’re categorized into inside and outside salespeople to define their statuses as either exempt or nonexempt as defined by California laws.

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Jury duty service is very important in enhancing democracy in America. As such, California’s jury leave law which is derived from the Labor Code section 230 recognizes employees’ freedom to engage in jury duty. Jury duty is a process where citizens act as witnesses in a court of law upon receiving summon papers. In most instances, employees are reluctant to serve on a jury due to fear of lack of compensation by their employers. It is, therefore, necessary for employers to create jury duty leave policies that motivate employees to participate in jury service.

In relation to jury duty leave laws in the workplace, there are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). The questions are as follows:

Is it obligatory to pay an employee attending jury duty?

The law does not compel employers to pay employees attending jury service. However, some employers have formulated jury duty leave policies that guarantee employee compensation for their service. In organizations where there are no such policies, the employee does not receive compensation.

Do I commit an offense by communicating with my employee in the course of a trial?

It is not an offense to communicate with your employee as long as it is during the trial recess. However, it is an offense to discuss details of a trial with the employee.

Do I have the mandate to verify that my employees will attend jury service?

It is your right as an employer to request your employees to furnish you with the necessary documentation-notice of proceedings, a court order- that confirms they will be attending jury service.

When should I withhold compensation for my exempt employees on a jury?

An employer is required to pay exempt employees for the total days worked. Even so, an employer can withhold compensation if jury duty deprives the employees of their ability to execute tasks for the entire jury service week.

Is there any chance that I can be compelled to pay my nonexempt employees?

There are instances where an employer may be compelled by a contract or union agreement to pay nonexempt employees.

Do courts compensate employers who compensate employees for jury service?

Unfortunately, courts do not compensate employers. If an employer compensates an employee for attending jury duty, the employee ought to refund the juror’s fees to the employer.

To wrap up, it is key for employers to enact jury duty leave guidelines that are fair to employees. This should be done since jury service is part of employees’ duty as citizens to influence the legal process. With respect to employees who hardly understand about jury duty leave laws, it is wise to consult legal experts in California labor laws to get more insights these laws.

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