When is a company employee considered exempt?

In California, when a company employee is considered exempt depends on a few factors. Generally, for an employee to be considered exempt, he or she must be paid a salary, be performing executive, administrative, professional, or outside sales duties, and earning at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time employment. For instance, an executive employee must manage at least one other person, perform work that is primarily executive in nature, and be regularly engaged in making decisions and working to control operations of the company. Administrative employees are exempt if they regularly perform work that is office or non-manual in nature and is related to the management and general business operations of the company. This includes activities such as bookkeeping functions, marketing, making purchasing decisions and other relevant activities. Professional Employees who regularly perform work that requires specialized knowledge in fields such as science, engineering, architecture, accounting, teaching and law are exempt if their work requires specialized knowledge in their field. Outside Sales Employees who make sales away from their employer’s place of business are exempt. In addition, certain computer programmers and software engineers may be exempt if their work realtes to software systems, applications, or programming. Lastly, certain creative professional employees such as performers, writers, lyricists, painters, and cartoonists may be exempt if their work requires imagination and a high level of skill. Overall, when determining whether an employee is exempt in California, employers should consider the employee’s job duties, responsibilities, and the amount of wages they are earning.

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When is a company employee considered exempt?

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