April 2003
WIN AT WORK MONTHLY
A Community Service of DON D. SESSIONS, A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORP., Employee Rights Attorneys
Win at Work	Employee Rights Update
SALARY AND OVERTIME “You’re salaried so you don’t get overtime pay.” This is one of the most common misconceptions in the workplace. There is no doubt that salary status is one of the requirements exempting an employee from overtime pay, but it is not the only one. An exempt employee also has to be a manager, supervising two or more people more than half of the time, an administrator exercising independent judgment and discretion in important matters, or a professional, such as a doctor, lawyer, CPA, or computer programmer. There are also minimum salary requirements for an employee to be exempt. Just calling employees “salaried” or “exempt” does not necessarily make them so. There are complex rules in establishing salaried status for purposes of overtime exemption. Before employers conclude overtime pay doesn’t apply to their employees, they need to know what they’re talking about. Because if they’re wrong, there could be substantial liability.	MILITARY LEAVE RIGHTS The war in Iraq has required many reserve and National Guard members of the armed services to give up their civilian jobs to fight overseas. Their employment rights are protected by the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act of 1994. An employee can claim an unpaid military leave of absence of up to five years. Health benefits can continue for up to 18 months during the leave, but the employee may have to pay the cost of continued coverage. There are different deadlines for applying for reinstatement after return from military service. These deadlines vary with the amount of time the employee has spent in military service. Certain exceptions exist to re-employment. However, re-employed employees can only be dismissed “for cause” and not “at will,” for up to one year upon return, provided their military service exceeded 180 days. If the military service was less than 180 days but more than 30 the dismissal “for cause” period is 180 days. Peter W. Taylor, Attorney
Update on our attorneys: Stephen Kimball resolved a case at trial. Patrick Turner argued a case in court with the former California Labor Commissioner against an employer. Don Sessions and his co-counsel prevailed in a class action lawsuit in a massive overtime case on behalf of 160 employees.
Look for our answers to employees’ questions in the “Life and Work Q & A” column of the Orange County Register’s "Business Monday" magazine. E-mail us at dds@job-law.com to have your address added or removed from our monthly mailing list. For more employee rights information or for past issues of Win at Work Monthly, click here for our website, job-law.com; here to order our book, Employee Rights in California; or contact our office directly at 23456 Madero, Suite 170, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, (949) 380-0900, (800) 774-7494, mailto:info@job-law.com. The Win at Work portion of Win at Work Monthly is from our ongoing syndicated column which appears in the Los Angeles Times’ “Career Builder Magazine” and elsewhere. Win at Work Monthly is intended for general information and should not be construed as legal advice or opinion. Readers in need of legal advice should promptly retain the services of an attorney. ©2003 by Don D. Sessions.