It certainly doesn't help California workers,'' said Julianne Broyles, California Chamber of Commerce's lobbyist on employment issues. The opinion letter was issued by Miles Locker, chief counsel to the state labor commissioner, who wrote it in response to a question from an employment attorney. Some attorneys say the opinion will likely be challenged either in court or in the Legislature. In the meantime, the opinion complicates the efforts of employers trying to cut staff costs without layoffs. There is no question that employers can tell hourly employees, who are paid overtime for extra hours, to take unpaid time off.
Exempt employees are generally executive, administrative or professional workers.
Federal guidelines say exempt employees must be paid a weekly salary, and an employer can't cut their pay for part of a week. Until recently, many companies had assumed that California's guidelines were the same. But this week's opinion letter says that AB60, the law that reinstated daily overtime in California last year, requires that exempt employees be paid a monthly, not a weekly, salary. If an employer cuts their pay because they're not needed for part of a month, they become entitled to overtime. Attorneys who represent employers said they disagree with the opinion.