Misclassified as Exempt
A salary doesn’t make you exempt from overtime.
Plenty of employees are put on a salary, handed a title, and told they’re “exempt” from overtime, even when the law says otherwise. Being called exempt doesn’t make it so. Whether you really qualify comes down to your actual job duties and pay, not your title. If you’ve been labeled exempt but do the work of a non-exempt employee, you may be owed significant unpaid overtime. USA Employment Lawyers helps set the record straight.
Misclassified as Exempt
Your title doesn’t control.
Your real duties do.
To be legally exempt from overtime, an employee generally has to clear three bars: earn at least the federal salary threshold, perform genuine management or independent decision-making duties, and, for the executive exemption, regularly supervise two or more full-time employees. Fall short of any one, and you’re likely owed overtime no matter what your offer letter says.
$0
per week, the federal salary floor for most exemptions
0
full-time employees you must supervise to be a true “executive”
0
years to claim unpaid overtime for willful misclassification
How employers misuse exempt status.
Title over duties.
A “manager” badge means nothing if you don’t actually manage or make decisions of significance.
Token supervision.
Occasionally directing a coworker isn’t the same as regularly supervising two or more full-time employees.
Industry mislabeling.
Loan officers, underwriters, recruiters, and assistant “managers” are frequently exempt on paper but not in practice.
Unpaid training time.
Trainees who aren’t primarily teaching others are owed overtime during training, not a flat salary.
Yes. The “exempt” label only holds if your salary and your actual duties both meet a specific legal test. If they don’t, you’re entitled to overtime for hours past 40, even if you’ve been treated as exempt for years.
A combination: a salary at or above the federal threshold and specific duties, true management, independent judgment on significant matters, or supervising two or more full-time staff. Job descriptions and titles don’t decide it.
Generally two years, or three if the misclassification was willful. The longer it ran, the larger the unpaid-overtime claim tends to be.
Why workers choose us.
Challenging your own classification feels risky. Our model removes the risk so the facts can speak.
Free initial consultation
Walk us through your real duties and we’ll tell you if your “exempt” label holds up.
No fee unless we win
We represent misclassified employees on contingency, nothing out of your pocket.
Proven recovery record
We’ve recovered unpaid overtime for workers told for years that they didn’t qualify.
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Knowledge is power.
If your duties don’t match your “exempt” label, the overtime you’ve been denied may be recoverable. Our attorneys analyze your real responsibilities, calculate what you’re owed, and pursue it, with no fee unless we win. A free, confidential review is the fastest way to learn where you stand.
