How does the Labor Commission assist you?
The MOU or Memorandum of Understanding is a directive which has been included in the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) and the California’s Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) so that the employees are protected, and there is a new uniform system to regulate the classification of workers entitled to, and not entitled to, overtime pay in California.
Besides California, such agreements are done in many other states like Maryland, Montana, Massachusetts, Utah, Hawaii, Connecticut, Missouri, and Washington. The federal organizations and the state share the information so that they can help in gaining proper insights and assist in increasing the state as well as federal revenue by hiking the taxable income. In case an employee falls under the non-exempt category then they will be eligible for overtime payment which is taxable. Hence, the government too earns while you are doing overtime and getting paid for it.
This MOU came into existence after many cases where a company is located in one state but was working in another state. This was done so that the employer was saved from paying the employees the overtime rates which were mandatory in some states.
Often employers tried to skip paying overtime by labeling the employees as independent contractors. This has created issues in the economy of the nation. If an employee is classified as an independent contractor, the company is not liable to pay the employee overtime charges, medical benefits etc.
You need to bear a few things in mind. The first one is that in the state of California it is the employer’s responsibility to prove that you are not entitled to overtime pay. The next thing to remember is that the actual work profile needs to be considered to find out whether you are entitled to exemption or not. The employer has no say in this matter.
You can find out more about California Labor Laws from UELG where we are assisting people regularly. These people have been duped and conned by their employers. So get in touch with us and get a free and confidential evaluation of your case.
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