My last blog entry on travel time only touched on one issue that may arise as we see more employees being asked to take on additional responsibilities and assignments in lieu of hiring new personnel. Indeed, consolidation of jobs or responsibilities can lead to a number of other potential wage and hour issues that can have a significant impact on employers. One such issue arises when an exempt employee takes on additional jobs or duties that are non-exempt. How should an employee be treated for overtime purposes if working both exempt and non-exempt positions?

When an employee performs work in more than one capacity for the same employer – e.g. as a clerical worker (non-exempt) and manager (exempt) – employers must consider the character of the employee’s job as a whole. The standard for determining whether the combined job duties are exempt is the primary duty test. In other words, if the exempt managerial duties are the primary duty, the employee will be exempt. If the clerical duties are the primary duty, the employee will be non-exempt, and normal regular rate principles apply in calculating overtime for all hours worked for both jobs in the workweek.