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 knowledge customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction" (which is what the law requires). The Ninth Circuit reversed the finding of the trial court, which granted summary judgment against the social workers.
The takeaway from this decision is that the common sense definition of "professional" may be different than the view of a Court or the Department of Labor, in determining whether overtime is required. Often, these cases are close calls, and, as here, even the judges can disagree on who qualifies for the exemption and who does not. One practical step that employers can take is to dust off job descriptions and make sure that any of these "close call" positions have a thorough explanation of the requirements of the job which emphasizes the intellectual character and advanced training required.
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