Misclassified employees such as independent contractors are a serious problem in the labor and employment field. This unfair practice has been going on for a long time and unfortunately, a lot of people are getting away it.
The reason this is such a problem is because misclassified employees are denied access to critical benefits such as; family and medical leave, overtime, minimum wage and insurance, all of which are things they are entitled. In the labor and employment field there are two different classifications of employees, exempt and nonexempt. Nonexempt employees are entitled to overtime pay while exempt employees are not. Employees who are paid less than $23,600 per year are nonexempt. Employees who earn more than $100,000 per year are exempt.
Employers often make the mistake of labeling their workers as exempt because they are salaried. However, the employee must also perform a high level of certain duties. For example, an exempt executive would include any employee who has the authority to hire or fire other employees and whose opinion regarding things like hiring, firing or promotions carries a lot of weight.
The second cause for misclassified employees is for financial considerations. Sometimes employers will classify employees as exempt purposely, so they don’t have to pay them overtime. This is a problem because often times, misclassified employees do not realize the rights they are being stripped of when they are unknowingly being classified incorrectly.
Misclassified employees are a costly-mistake that can happen to any employee. But by taking the right preventative measures, such as knowing your rights including the wages and benefits you deserve, you can save yourself and any other misclassified employee a lot of hardship in the long run. If you feel like you are being taken advantage of contact your local labor employment attorney, we will make sure that you are aware of all of your entitled rights.
