An hourly, non-exempt employee whose duties may make him eligible to be classified as an exempt administrative employee, is demanding to be classified as exempt. Are we required to change his classification?

No, an employer is not obligated to classify employees as exempt. In California, depending upon the exemption, employees may be exempt only from overtime or from Sections 3-12 of the Industrial Welfare Commission orders.

The use of these exemptions is simply available to the employer; nothing in the law requires an employer to utilize an exemption. On the contrary, misclassifying an employee as exempt who is not can be a very costly error.

Specific Criteria

The law outlines the specific criteria required for the exempt classifications. Employers