Target Overtime Misclassification: a salary and a management title do not automatically remove overtime rights. Upload notices, contracts, reports or court papers to Caira and turn them into a document checklist.
Open Caira
Current-law note: reviewed against current official-source posture for the 2026 refresh.
So What
Retail employees with titles such as executive team leader, assistant manager or department lead may be classified as exempt. The legal question is not the title. It is whether the employee meets the salary basis, salary level and duties tests for a recognized exemption. Current federal enforcement returned to the 2019 salary-level framework after the 2024 overtime rule was vacated, but state law may impose higher salary thresholds or stricter duties tests.
Duties Matter Most
how much time you spend supervising versus stocking, cashiering or customer work
whether you can hire, fire or make weighty recommendations
how much independent judgment you actually exercise
whether staffing shortages force hourly production work
who controls schedules, budgets and discipline
whether you manage a recognized department or just execute corporate tasks
Documents To Collect
offer letter and job description
pay records and weekly hours
schedules and labor-budget documents
texts or emails assigning hourly tasks
performance reviews and authority limits
records showing who made hiring, firing and discipline decisions
Current Overtime Caution
Do not build the article around a 2024 federal salary-threshold increase as if it is live. The safer current framing is: federal salary rules must be checked against DOL's current enforcement posture, and many misclassification cases still turn on real duties and state law.
FAQ
If I supervise two people, am I exempt? Not automatically. Authority and primary duty matter.
Can I recover for old weeks? Possibly, but limitations periods apply.
What should Caira produce? A duties matrix comparing the written job description with actual weekly work.
This guide is general information, not legal, financial, medical or tax advice.
