I recently left a company after 4.5 years of service. I was considered an exempt salaried employee and worked a *lot* of overtime - an average of 50 hours a week up to 110 hours at the max. I'm being told by several current employees that my position was technically non-exempt. I've been looking into it, and honestly, I'm confused.

I was never specifically classified as an exempt computer professional, which by my deduction, would be what the position would closest resemble. The company handbook just mentions salaried exempt vs. salaried non-exempt.

The position is called network engineer and it specifically relates to telecommunication system installations for businesses. I wouldn't really call myself an engineer (e.g. electrical or mechanical), but there is a fair amount of technical skill and knowledge that relates to the job. I hold some certifications, but nothing higher than would take a couple weeks to prepare for. I've spoken to labor & industries, and they were absolutely no help in assisting me to understand where my position falls.

Essentially, I would physically install telecommunication systems, wire them up, program them to do what the customer needed and would do other things like break/fix and maintenance support. The programming was not code based at all - more like ticking checkboxes and entering data into fields via a computer program. Some of my job entailed entering commands on a device to make it do what it should. It took some skill to understand what the customer needed and how to make the devices do it, but it wasn't low level like computer programming or hardware design.

The "duty" test reads as follows, of which, I'm having a hard time determining whether my position meets criteria 8.2 or 8.3. It's a little confusing at best, especially considering how vague the law is.

8.1 Primary duty must include the application of systems analysis techniques and procedures to determine hardware, software, or system functional specifications, or

8.2 Following user or system design specifications to design, develop, document, analyze, create, test or modify any computer system, application or program or prototypes, or

8.3 Designing, documenting, testing, creating or modifying computer systems, applications or programs for machine operation systems, or

8.4 Any combination of the above that requires the same skill level.

I found it quite interesting to read the following, which specifically states certain non-exempt examples:

"It [exemption status] does not include computer operators, or employees engaged in the manufacture, repair, troubleshooting, or maintenance of computer hardware and related equipment..."

I'm debating whether it's worth my time to pursue this. The other complication is that I wasn't smart enough to capture my time records prior to leaving, so it would take an audit to reveal anything that might be owed. I've been told by labor & industries that it would be up to me to generate enough evidence to warrant an investigation. I think I could do that. The first step, however, is to determine if any improprieties are involved.

Can anyone provide some assistance or analysis on this for me? If there are any specific questions, I would be happy to answer them.

Thanks for everything!

I'm guessing you were misclassified. You have nothing to lose by filing the claim. Make your best estimate, don't overstate, but don't understate either. The employer will have to show that you didn't work what you claimed. Sounds like your time sheets show the hours actually worked, even though you were paid a straight salary?

I don't think you can go back for the entire 4.5 years, though. Nope, only 3.
http://www.lni.wa.gov/Forms/pdf/700027af.pdf

For the first year and a half, no time records were kept whatsoever - so proving anything past 3 years or so would be moot.

They do have copies of my reported hours via time sheets and they do show actual hours worked. The reported time did not have any bearing on my pay whatsoever, nor was it reflected on my pay stubs. I'm trying to get copies of some of my old time sheets, but that's a long shot at this point.

Research of job postings shows that there is no universal rule here. I've seen it both ways for similarly qualified positions...exempt & non-exempt. Generally speaking, larger companies appear to err on the side of caution and classify it as non-exempt.

Thanks for your help.

I wouldn't bother trying to get time sheets at this point. The DOL will get them. Or, you can go with an attorney and he/she will subpoena them.

Is anyone aware of any particular cases, specifically relating to telecommunications, that might help me derive whether my position was exempt or non-exempt? L&I was not too helpful - they told me, "We don't know what you do...so it's hard for us to tell. Take the duties test."

The wording of the duty test is so vague and open ended. I have heard at least two independent confirmations, supposedly from lawyers, that they believe this position to be non-exempt. But, I read the words on the page and it's hard to see where the line is.

Case law or something to that effect would be very helpful. I can go down to the law library if needed to look things up.

Thanks.

This can be complicated and generally the sort of thing that requires a lot of research to come up with answers to. Your state is not my state and I do not know how to look for state specific decisions affecting you. I can give you a pointer to common federal DOL opinion letters, which may or may not include one that addresses your situation.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/opinion/flsa.htm