The answer is "it depends," as best shown by a recent decision by the United States Court Of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Little v. Belle Tire Distributors, Inc.
The employee's job title was First Assistant Manager. He was paid a salary of $1100 per month. He claimed he is entitled to overtime; the employer claimed he was exempt from overtime under either the executive or administrative exemption. The court characterized the dispute as follows: "Belle Tire seeks to paint Little as influential in hiring and as actively leading employee training and other management task. Little, on the other hand, seeks to characterize himself as a salesman who provides clerical-type assistance to the store manager." The court's ruling was that the dispute was for a jury to decide.
This case again illustrates the point that just because an employee is paid a salary and has a job title including the word "manager," he or she is exempt from overtime. Whether or not the employee is or is not exempt from overtime depends upon what their actual job duties and functions are: do they actively lead employee training and carry on other management tasks or are they a salesman who happens also to provide some clerical assistance to their store manager?
We have discussed previously these issues: Are Shift Supervisors Exempt from Overtime Pay Requirements?, What is the Administrative Exemption to the Overtime Pay Requirement? and Are store managers exempt from overtime in Kentucky?
Lexington, Kentucky overtime lawyer Robert Abell helps individuals and employees recover the wages and overtime they have earned but not been paid; contact him at 859-254-7076.
