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How Do I Know if I Am Entitled to Overtime?


Whether an employee is entitled to overtime pay under federal and California law may depend on a number of factors. The overarching question is whether the employee is classified as exempt or non-exempt. However, some employers misclassify employees to avoid paying overtime wages. In this video, Los Angeles employment attorney Doug Silverstein explains what constitutes exempt tasks vs. non-exempt tasks. Employees who have been underpaid overtime or who are misclassified as exempt when they are not may have a claim in wage and hour law for back overtime pay.

In order to determine if someone is entitled to overtime or not, you have to examine what their job function is. If their job function is truly managing, such as reviewing performance reviews, handling everyone’s scheduling, giving out discipline, hiring employees, and making decisions about future plans for the company. Those are what are called exempt tasks, meaning they are exempt from overtime, but if the employee is engaged in stocking shelves, working at a cash register, helping employees sell on the floor, or working directly with customers, those are called non-exempt tasks and those are the kind of tasks that entitle employees to overtime. If 50% or more of the employee’s time is spent doing those non-exempt tasks, then the employee is entitled to overtime. If you want to learn more about employment law in California, take a look at our website, CaliforniaLaborLawAttorney.com.