Are White-Collar Exemptions Being Met?

Agenda

Overview of Exemptions

• The EAP or White-Collar Exemptions
• Computer Professional Exemption
• Other Federal Exemptions (e.g., Motor Carrier, Railway Labor Act, etc.)

Basic Tests for Exemptions - Salary Test

• Salary Threshold Test (Minimum Salary Level), Including 2019 Proposed Changes
• Salary Basis Test and Permitted Salary Deductions
• Effects of Improper Deductions and Safe Harbor Provision

Basic Tests for Exemptions - Duties Test

• Executive Duties
• Administrative Duties
• Learned and Creative Professional Duties
• Computer Exemption Duties

Other Federal Exemptions - Sales Exemptions

• Outside Sales Exemption
• Commission Sales Exemption

State Laws

• Different Minimum Salaries
• No Highly Compensated Test, Separate Computer Exemption
• States With Duties Test Differences and Some Key Duties Differences

Credits

Faculty

Brian M. Hentosz

Littler Mendelson P.C.

• Associate with Littler Mendelson P.C.
• Represents employers in wage and hour litigation and traditional labor matters throughout the country
• In his wage and hour practice, he represents employers in class and collective actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws; he has defended employers in the construction, energy, financial services, restaurant, retail, sports and entertainment, and transportation industries
• He has significant experience defending against allegations of exemption misclassification; unpaid overtime; off-the-clock, preliminary and postliminary unpaid time, and meal and rest break violations; independent contractor misclassification and unlawful tip pooling, tip sharing, and tip credit practices
• Traditional labor practice focuses on proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board and the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board; collective bargaining; grievance arbitrations; labor contract administration; strikes and picketing; union election campaigns and corporate transactions
• Regularly counsels clients on labor and employment compliance issues, including employee handbooks and policies; discipline and termination issues; wage and hour compliance; union avoidance; implementing lawful reductions-in-force; conducting investigations and severance agreements
• Served as the symposium editor of the Tulane Law Review
• Named, Ones to Watch, The Best Lawyers in America©, 2021; Order of the Coif; Omicron Delta Epsilon and recipient, CALI Award in Constitutional Criminal Procedure

Paul R. Piccigallo

Littler Mendelson P.C.

• Associate with Littler Mendelson P.C.
• Represents employers in various areas of labor and employment law
• His principal focus is the defense of class and collective action lawsuits under federal and state wage and hour laws, including both white-collar misclassification actions and actions brought on behalf of hourly employees seeking to recover unpaid minimum, regular, and overtime wages
• Routinely advises employers on wage and hour and other employment-related compliance issues, and is particularly knowledgeable about New York wage-hour law
• Recent experience includes representing large utility and tech companies in nationwide class and collective actions, and successfully obtaining an order denying conditional certification in a Fair Labor Standards collective action brought in New York on behalf of thirty thousand employees; advising employers on complex commission issues brought under New York law, including preparing executive and commission agreements and litigating claims for unpaid commissions and bonuses; representing clients under investigation by the United States Department of Labor for alleged violations of wage-hour laws, including issues relating to overtime, spread of hours payment, frequency of pay and meal breaks; providing advice and counsel to clients regarding COVID-19 impact issues, including reductions in pay for exempt and nonexempt employees, and compliance with federal and state sick laws and providing training to clients and conducting audits on wage-hour issues, in order to ensure compliance with federal, state and local laws
• An active member of the firm’s Wage and Hour and Class Action Practice groups, and also serves as one of the firm’s Alumni Ambassadors; he is also the only Associate member of the firm’s Good Faith Defense Taskforce, and is a frequent contributor to the firm’s New York wage and hour-related publications
• Prior to entering private practice, he served as Deputy Special Counsel at the New York State Department of Labor where he represented the department before courts and administrative bodies; during his time with the department, he represented the department in dozens of administrative hearings, including in matters where eight figures were in dispute, and assisted in drafting state-wide wage-hour regulations in effect today
• During law school, he externed for Judge Francis M. Allegra of the United States Court of Federal Claims and Judge Arthur J. Gajarsa of the United State Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit