Job Misclassifications: When Your Employer Mislabels Your Job Title To Save Money

As an employee, the way your job is classified can make a big difference in how much you are paid, how much you work and what laws your employer is expected to follow. Properly classified employees are exempt from certain laws such as the right to receive overtime pay, meal breaks and rest breaks. Frequently, employers will misclassify workers in order to evade these regulations. Likewise, if you are classified as an independent contractor, then the same protections available to employees do not apply to you. Frequently, companies misclassify workers as independent contractors to save money.

Employers know the law. They know that they will have fewer costs and legal obligations if they call certain employees exempt or if they label them as independent contractors. Sometimes, the misclassification is a mistake; other times employers will deliberately mislabel workers in order to save money. Either way, the company is breaking the law.

How Do I Know If I Am Misclassified?

Your employer will not tell you if you’ve been misclassified, but you’ll probably suspect something is wrong. You may be paid a salary and find yourself working more than eight hours per day without receiving premium overtime wages.

Something may be wrong if:

• Your job title says that you are a manager, but you either work alongside hourly workers, or don’t get to make policy-level management decisions.
• You work more than eight hours per day without receiving any extra pay.
• You are being denied meal and rest breaks.
• You are being called an independent contractor, but the employer controls the details of your work, retains the right to hire, fire or discipline you, controls your budget and otherwise treats you like an employee.

If you think that something isn’t right, contacting a lawyer at our law firm for a confidential and free consultation is a good first step to learning about your legal rights. Your employer won’t know you called us, and you’ll receive real information about your rights and the best course of action. You may call 415-983-0900 or 800-447-5549 or, if you prefer, complete a simple online contact form.

Who Are We?

The attorneys at the San Francisco law firm of Righetti • Glugoski, P.C., work with clients in the Bay Area and throughout California who face employment-related issues involving employee grievances of all kinds, including misclassifications, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), wage pay and more. Much of our focus at our firm is in the area of class action litigation. Over the years, we have developed a reputation for success in significant class action cases, including several large wage and hour class actions.