Mass-Peculiarities: An Employers Guide to Wage & Hour Law in the Bay State 2022 Edition

© 2022 Seyfarth Shaw LLP Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2022 ed. | 111 4. Highly Compensated Employee Exemption Both the Massachusetts Minimum Fair Wage Law and the FLSA exempt certain “highly compensated employees” from overtime requirements. As with the definitions of the administrative , executive, and professional exemptions, Massachusetts law relies on the definition for “highly compensated employees” set forth in the federal regulations. 608 Under this exemption, employees are exempt from overtime if: 1. The employee earns a total annual compensation of $107,432 or more, which includes at least $684.00 per week paid on a salary basis. 2. The employee’s primary duty includes performing office or non-manual work. 3. The employee customarily and regularly performs at least one of the exempt duties or responsibilities of an exempt executive, administrative, or professional employee. 609 According to the federal regulations, because a high level of compensation is a strong indicator of an employee’s exempt status, a detailed analysis of the employee’s job duties is unnecessary. 610 Thus, a highly compensated employee will qualify for this exemption if the employee customarily and regularly performs one or more of the exempt duties or responsibilities of an executive, administrative , or professional employee. 611 For example, an employee may qualify as a highly compensated executive employee if he or she customarily and regularly directs the work of two or more other employees, even though the employee does not meet all of the other requirements for the executive exemption. 612 The exemption for highly compensated employees applies only to employees whose primary duty includes performing office or non-manual work. 613 Thus, non-management production line workers and non-management employees in maintenance, construction, and similar occupations who perform work involving repetitive operations with their hands, physical skill, and energy (such as carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, craftsmen, operating engineers, longshoremen, and construction workers) are not exempt under this statute even if they satisfy the high salary threshold. 614 The required total annual compensation of $107,432 or more may consist of commissions, nondiscretionary bonuses, and other nondiscretionary compensation earned during a 52-week 608 DLS Opinion Let ter MW-2008-004 (July 14, 2008); Litz v. St. Consulting Group Inc., 772 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2014). 609 29 C.F.R. § 541.601; DOL Wage & Hour Fact Sheet #17H (July 2008). 610 29 C.F.R. § 541.601(c). 611 Id . 612 Id . 613 29 C.F.R. § 541.601(d). 614 Id .