Should supervisors, lead persons, and foremen be paid overtime?

Why a fixed monthly salary may shortchange some employees
Q: I WORK as a supervisor/team lead at a manufacturing plant. I supervise a few employees but I can’t hire or fire them. I am salaried and I work a lot of overtime because of a heavy workload. I am not paid overtime because my employer says I am exempt. Is this right?  
A. Unless you are employed in an executive, administrative, or professional capacity, California law requires that all hours worked should be paid at an hourly rate. If you work beyond 8 in a day or over 40 in a week you should be paid at 1.5 times your regular rate of pay.  All hours worked beyond 12 in a day must be paid at twice your regular rate of pay.
Some employers misclassify their employees as “exempt,” make them regularly work more than 8 hours per day, and pay them a flat rate salary. By being paid a fixed salary, employees are not paid overtime.
But the law strictly applies the “executive,” “managerial,” and “professional” exemptions.  An employee’s true exempt status is not determined by fancy titles or the employer’s categorization. True exempt status is determined primarily by an employee’s duties.
For example, executives or managers must perform managerial, not merely ministerial, duties. These duties include managing the business, hiring, firing, and disciplining employees, deciding on employee salaries and wages, and creating work policies and procedures. These duties must take up more than 50% of their work time. If, for example, managers work 10-hour days, they must spend more than 5 hours per day on managerial work. And yes, among other things, the manager must be paid at least twice the state’s minimum wage for full-time employment.
Consider the following reported case:
A group of employees who worked as corrugator or converter facilitators, supervisors, lead men, or working foremen in a plant operated by Tin, Inc., in Santa Clara County, sued their employer for unpaid overtime. The employees alleged that the employer’s policy and practice led to the misclassification of the employees as exempt from overtime. A further result of their misclassification is that employees were not provided the legally mandated meal and rest periods. Finally, because of the misclassification, employees were issued inaccurate wage statements (pay stubs) that did not reflect the correct hours they worked and the pay they received for all of those hours.
The employer denied the employees’ claims and maintained that the employees were correctly classified as exempt, and that the employer did not violate any of California’s labor laws.
Prior to trial, the parties reached a settlement. The employer, without admitting any liability, agreed to settle rather than continue to litigate the case. The court approved the settlement of $2, 875,000, which is expected to benefit over 110 employees.
Generally, every hour that the employee works should be paid. Having a fixed salary that comes with a misclassification results in loss of significant wages to employees. It is smart for misclassified employees to seek the advice of an experienced employment attorney to discuss their options and protect their rights.

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The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost.  Atty. Sayas’ Law Office is located at 500 N. Brand Blvd. Suite 980, Glendale, CA 91203. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit  www.joesayaslaw.com. 

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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is trial attorney who has obtained several million dollar recoveries for his clients against employers and insurance companies. He has been selected as a Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.