Status Classification: Exempt vs. Nonexempt - How to Find and Fix Misclassification Mistakes

The misclassification of employees has been a hot topic with the IRS and the Department of Labor for years. This webinar will focus on updated classification rules for employees under both federal and state laws. Every year companies fail to properly classify their workers and such mistakes can be extremely costly. Class action lawsuits claiming millions of dollars in unpaid wages are filed each year alleging that employers have failed to pay overtime because workers are misclassified as "exempt." Staying ahead of misclassification claims is almost a full-time job itself and this course will teach you the guidelines for making sure you don't fall into the trap of misclassifying your workers.

• FSLA guidelines for classification of hourly workers
• Identifying exempt versus non-exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act
• Determining who is exempt and who is non-exempt in your workforce
• Understanding the definitions under both state and federal law of the exempt and non-exempt classifications
• Structuring jobs to avoid confusion between the various classifications
• Consequences of misclassifications
• In-depth review of changes that would have taken effect under the Final Rule on Overtime to FLSA
• Understanding the requirements for different exemption classifications and how to meet them
• Meeting the test to satisfy each class of exemption

• Executive Exemption: Making sure your employee meets this test
• Administrative exemption: Defining management or general business operations and what is discretion and independent judgment
• Exempt employees of education establishments
• Professional exemption: Who is a learned professional and who is a creative professional
• Computer employees: What makes certain of them exempt
• Outside sales employees: What are the requirements for outside sales employees
• Highly compensated employees: Meeting the test
• State vs. Federal requirements for salary basis test

In order to avoid legal exposure that comes with misclassifying an employee, or group of employees, employers should be familiar with the limits of each category of workers as defined in either the state or federal rules. Aside from back-pay and benefits that would be due and payable to a misclassified employee or group of employees, there can also be substantial penalties that drive up the cost of classification errors.

• Chief Financial Officers
• HR Professionals
• Payroll Leads/Supervisors/Managers
• C-Level Executives
• Operations Leads
• Department Supervisors/Managers
• Accounting Professionals
• Store Directors
• Personnel Schedulers
• Staffing Associates

Melvin K. Patterson, an attorney licensed to practice before all state and federal courts in California, is General Counsel to the Cedrus Group, a family of international financial services firms with offices around the globe. He is a member of the Labor & Employment Section of the California State Bar and has been admitted to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California as well as the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. Mr. Patterson is experienced in Labor and Employment litigation and transactional matters in the U.S., Asia and the U.K. He has designed internal business policies, procedures and management structures, as well as inter-corporate relationships and has been a business owner himself. Mr. Patterson is an experienced trial litigator who has handled numerous business and commercial matters for over 20 years on behalf of an elite clientele around the world. He has defended clients in matters brought against companies by employees, commercial business agreements and government regulatory matters. Mr. Patterson holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the John F. Kennedy University School of Law, as well as a Certificate in Strategic Human Resource Management from Cornell University. He has also earned the American Jurisprudence Award, completed specialized training in Assessing Economic Damages, Forensic Discovery and Preservation of Electronic Evidence and Data. Mr. Patterson was nominated to the National Dean's List and has been a speaker before such groups as the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, is a past contributing editor to California Motions In Limine (The Rutter Group) and has been a columnist for the "The Docket", the news and information journal of the San Mateo County Bar Ass'n. He has a knowledge of Korean, Japanese and Spanish languages.