One of the many gray areas in wage and hour law is determining
whether a job is sufficiently "intellectual" as to
warrant application of the professional exemption from overtime.
Lawyers, doctors and CPA's easily meet the exemption, but other
jobs, many of which require college degrees and extensive training,
have been found lacking. Most recently, the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals analyzed the job duties of social workers in Washington
State and ruled they were non exempt. See Solis v. State of Washington, Department of Social
& Health Services.
The responsibilities of the social workers included
investigating child abuse and neglect, developing and recommending
appropriate treatment plans to courts, evaluating child and family
progress in meeting treatment plans, making placement decisions,
and recommending whether parental rights should be terminated. The
Court, however, found that the position only requires "general
academic training" and not "advanced
