Low-level managers who have been classified as exempt from overtime pay are sparking a series of class-action lawsuits against corporations. In what has been called “white-collar sweatshops,” managers claim they have been misclassified because they spend more time completing rote activities than actually managing businesses, and have therefore been wrongfully denied overtime pay. Businesses fear that these multimillion-dollar suits may put companies out of business.
See "Infuriated Managers Suing for Overtime—and Winning", Lisa Girion, Los Angeles Times, June 7, 2001