Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Re: Exempt Employment Questions

From the description of your job position, it would appear that you may have been misclassified as exempt from the payment of overtime. . In California, payment of overtime is the rule and exemption from that rule requires meeting particular standards. For example, in your situation, an employee would likely need to be engaged in purely management type activities more than 50% of the time in order for an employer to avoid the need to pay overtime wages. Therefore, if the employee spent more than 50% of his/her time performing the same activities as the hourly employees, such as cashiering, stocking shelves, pricing, fronting, setting up inventory, intaking inventory, etc., they would not be performing management duties for a sufficient period and should be paid overtime if they work more than 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week.

With regard to your cell phone expenses, your employer is responsible for any expense you incur on its behalf. However, are you required by your employer to have a cell phone for this purpose? If so, all employee calls and some monthly expenses would be reimbursable.

With respect to the bank runs, the time spent making the bank runs is compensable as either straight time (if part of your 8 hours per day) or overtime if more than 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week. The mileage may or may not be compensable dependent on the distance.

You may either pursue these issues by filing a claim with the local office of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) (See http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/districtoffices.htm for the nearest office) or through an attorney.

Please feel free to contact me at our toll free number to discuss your options.

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Re: Exempt Employment Questions

From the description of your position, it appears as though you have been misclassified as an exempt employee by your employer. Employees who perform non-exempt type work more than fifty percent of the time are generally not exempt employees. This means that all hours worked over eight in a day or forty in a week must be paid at the overtime premium, regardless of the amount of weekly salary.

Whether or not you are exempt or non-exempt, all business related expenses you necessarily incur on behalf of the employer must be reimbursed.

There are various medical leave laws that may apply to your situation. Your information is too general to determine which, if any, you qualify for.

Your situation needs to be addressed with your employer. If you are unsure how to handle the matter, you should consult with an experienced employment law attorney in your area or speak with someone at the California Labor Commissioners office as soon as possible.