Catherwood LibraryILR School

In a series of class-action cases brought against major corporations in recent years, courts have awarded thousands in back pay to salaried employees improperly classified as exempt from time-and-a-half overtime pay. The cases---which hinge on the distinction in the Fair Labor Standards Act between exempt and non-exempt employees---have revealed major discrepancies between supposedly exempt job titles and actual job duties. Although often assumed to be synonymous with 'salaried' and 'hourly worker,' the distinction between the exempt and non-exempt classifications is far subtler---focusing on detailed job descriptions.