With the ever-confusing definitions of what is considered an exempt employee, it may be time to call for some assistance.  When claims are made regarding exemptions status, supporting documentation comes in the form of job descriptions.  Will your descriptions support the classification decision made by your company, or will they prove to be your downfall?  This audit entails a member of the SDEA staff auditing the position in question through existing documentation.  SDEA can help make a determination on whether we feel the written description meets the requirements of an exempt employee or not.  If no job documentation exists, we will help you create it.  Questions to be considered would include:

• Does the employee spend more than 50% of their time actually performing duties that are considered exempt in nature as outlined in the description? 
• What are “exempt” duties? 
• How will you handle an employee that is misclassified? 
• Is the employee performing the duties that are reflected on the current documentation?
• Does the current documentation reflect what the manager or organization wants accomplished by the job?

Misclassification of an exempt employee can be one of the most costly mistakes an employer can make—be pro-active.  SDEA can help answer these questions and give you feedback to work with for future determinations of an exempt employee.