Help - Boss wants to make production ees exempt

djacobs475

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 11-07-03 AT 09:47AM (CST)[/font][p]Help - against my recommendations, my boss, CEO, wants to make certain production ees exempt (from their current non-exempt status). My concern is that electricians, carpenters, and shipping & receiving guys just aren't exempt unless they are production managers. This is in order to prevent having to pay them overtime.

I have told him that in order to be considered exempt they would have to supervise at least 2 others and spend more than 80% of their time supervising, which is clearly not the case.

Help - what do I do? If my boss continues to insist on making them exempt, would writing detailed notes in my CYA file (as I usually do) be enough to keep me off the hook on personal liability?

As usual your invaluable advise is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.


UPDATE: Thank you all for responding with your great advise. I did speak with my boss about how serious an issue this is and finally made him see the light: he agreed to leave those production ees as non-exempt. What a relief! But it is bothersome to me that such an obvious liability that could cost us so much needs to be fought over ... I am curious: How many of you play out these types of battles with your upper management, how often, and who is usually the victor? Thanks again.

Tapatio

Obviously, your boss is a very ignorant individual. If he reclassifies these employees as exempt in order to save money, he could end up paying dearly in terms of claims for unpaid overtime and possible fines, when the employees file claims with the state wage and hour division or the department of labor, as it may apply in your particular state. As far as the liability for this action is concerned, you would not be personally liable, since the company is the responsible party. However, to cover yourself, you should send him an email and keep a copy of it, in case he ever tries to shift the blame on you when the s____t hits the fan!! I thought these kind of people did not exist any more, but in the world of HR, you run into something wild or crazy every day.

sonny

I agree with the above. Do you have a company attorney that could perhaps talk some sense into this guys head?

Tony Kessler

djacobs, if you're a Florida Employment Law Letter subscriber, this might help: In the October 2003 issue on page 3, there's an article titled: "Wage and hour issues continue to interest your employees' attorneys." How timely, huh. The first part of the article focuses on a St. Petersburg hospital that tried but failed to have a pharmacist/employee declared exempt. Maybe your employer would gain perspective by reading the article and seeing how close the hospital came to facing a class-action lawsuit. Good luck with this difficult problem. tk

Tony Kessler, director of editorial
M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC
(615) 661-0249 ext. 8068

San Francisco

I have never faced a problem like this or even one similar. But if so, is there a legal obligation to report this, or is it only a moral issue? What would any of you do, if you faced something like this?

Elizabeth

System

Something else to keep in mind: Individuals in management can be held personally liable for FLSA violations. Definitely the CEO, maybe an HR person. But I doubt it matters unless the company is too broke to sue.

James Sokolowski
HRhero.com

Don D

Djacobs: hit the print button on this thread and put it in your CYA file.

djacobs475

UPDATE: Thank you all for responding with your great advise. I did speak with my boss about how serious an issue this is and finally made him see the light: he agreed to leave those production ees as non-exempt. What a relief! But it is bothersome to me that such an obvious liability that could cost us so much needs to be fought over ... I am curious: How many of you play out these types of battles with your upper management, how often, and who is usually the victor? Thanks again.